Uproar
by NeptunesBlue
Summary: Just because you're a Pro doesn't mean you're immune to the nonsense life throws your way. But that's part of the fun, right? Right...? Ugh, All Might made it all look so easy. Aged-up. Rated T for now. Connected drabble series.
1. Ground Zero

**UPROAR**

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**Summary:** Just because you're a Pro doesn't mean you're immune to the shit life throws your way. But that's part of the fun, right? Ugh, All Might made it all look so easy. Aged-up. Rated T, for now. Connected drabble series.

**A/N:** Welcome! Let's explore the Pro-Hero employment escapades of our favorite UA graduates! All they have to do is juggle their social lives and navigate their relationships as they climb the Hero Rankings by tackling the resurgence in villains running amok after All Might's retirement! How hard can that possibly be...? On a side note, I plan to focus primarily on Bakugo, Ochako, Deku, and Kirishima, but other characters will make appearances in one way or another as you'll see.

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**Chapter 1:** Ground Zero

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_Five Years Ago (from Present Day)_

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_"—bring you breaking news. We go to the scene live with Hinata Teodasu." The single-horned newscaster announced, staring directly into the camera with a stern expression while the screen transitioned to the other reporter._

"Oh my god." Ochako gasped, taking in the background behind the new reporter. The woman covered the scene as stoically as she could, but there was a reason they all coveted that anchor's spot back in the safety of the studio.

Hinata Teodasu filled in viewers as thick clouds of ash and smoke billowed around her. They would have blended in with the night sky were it not for the rich flames below painting them with an orange gleam. It would have almost been beautiful were it not for the danger.

Ochako sat in her agency's lobby, waiting for a kettle of water to boil for her _konbini_ ramen. It had already been three months since graduation, but she was still struggling to adjust to the mandatory night-shifts she'd been assigned. Eager to start working in order to help her parents as much as she could, Ochako had accepted the first contract she'd been given.

It was with a small agency, whose specialties lay with disaster recoveries and civilian rescues and evacuations. The owner of the agency was elated to have Ochako, whose quirk could not possibly be more fit to their goals if she'd manufactured them in a lab.

But regrettably, she hadn't read the fine print before signing. Because it was such a small agency in such a rural area, they rarely received any new heroes. As such, her contract required her to serve her first three years on night and overnight shifts exclusively. It wasn't exactly the ideal future she planned for herself, but at least her paychecks were topped off with a bit extra due to her undesirable hours.

So, she decided to stick with it for the first three years based on that alone. Her tuition to U.A. wasn't cheap, and she knew her parents had sacrificed a lot in order to help her achieve her dreams. It was the least she could do to suffer just a little in return for their sake.

And nobody could know what the future would hold – for all she knew, her agency could receive a transfer from a different agency next month. It was still early enough for some of her other graduated peers to change their minds and switch from a big agency, wasn't it?

She sure hoped so, at least.

The kettle began to whistle, and she quickly turned it off the heat. In the silence, she listened to Hinata Teodasu explain the fiery scene behind her.

_"What was once a quiet harbor home to the twice-abandoned warm-water port now lay in ruins behind me." Hinata declared in a strong voice. "We received multiple reports from locals about a novice sidekick following a deranged villain into the abandoned warehouses. Just over twenty minutes later, the immediate neighborhood was suddenly evacuated, leaving hardly ten minutes to spare before multiple gasoline storage units were detonated –" _

Ochako's ears perked up at the word, pausing in placing her chopsticks across the lid of her ramen.

_"—which is the cause for the scene behind me, Daikaku-san."_

_"Are there any casualties to report, Teodasu-san?" Miyagi Daikaku appeared in a small box near the bottom of the screen so as not to distract from the story._

_ "I'm being told it's still too early to be certain, but law enforcement officials seem fairly confident that there has not been any civilian deaths or even any serious injuries reported."_

_ Daikaku couldn't conceal his shock, though it could have also just been relief. "This is truly a surprise to hear, considering the amount of damage behind you. Now, do we know which Heroes are on the scene? Are any of them available for interview?"_

_ Hinata shook her head negatively. "Unfortunately, Daikaku-san, we are currently unable to interview anyone other local law enforcement. In spite of the fact that we are the first ones on the scene…"_

A flash of red suddenly rushed to the camera and Ochako would have dropped her foam cup of noodles had she been holding it. Sweaty and soot-covered, Kirishima's shock of red hair atop his head was unmistakable. Grinning his sharp smile, he struggled to get a handle on Hinata Teodasu and her cameraman, growing increasingly flustered as they kept rolling in spite of him.

_ "Please, it's still very dangerous!" He insisted, attempting to turn the camera away with a black-clad hand. "This is still an open crime scene and we evacuated everybody for a reason!"_

In an instant, Ochako's phone exploded with messages. She quickly scrambled to get it off the table lest the vibrations wake her Pro-Hero boss, Gaia, who was taking a cat nap on the nearby sofa. With the extra cash she'd earned with her unpleasant shift hours, Ochako had been able to finally buy a smartphone. With that came the downloading of the messaging app that was currently bombarding her with texts from her U.A. group chat.

_"Poor Kirishima LOL who else is watching this news lady completely ignore him?" Ashido Mina was the first to poke fun at one of her closest former classmates._

_"What even happened? I'm just tuning in now." Replied Sero._

_"I'm just glad everyone is safe! Was he the one who ran in after the villain?" Tsu-chan questioned without her trademark ribbit._

_"Probably." Mineta conjectured with a suspicious detective-looking emoji._

_"That was completely reckless of him!" Shouted Iida, whose hands gestures Ochako could imagine perfectly. "What if someone had gotten hurt? He's lucky no civilians were injured!"_

_"Explosions can't hurt him, dummy. His quirk is too strong." Mina rebuked._

_"Can someone PLEASE tell me what happened? Social media is blowing up right now and I can't tell what's real or not!" Kaminari Denki mirrored Sero's frustrated sentiments. "WTF did Kirishima do?"_

_"He blew up the harbor." Mineta declared with several flame emojis this time._

_"That doesn't sound like something Kirishima would do…" Tokoyami stated._

_"I agree." Came Yaoyorozu Momo's response. "But I'm glad he's safe."_

_"Which hero is he working with again?" Asked Jirou._

_"He's Fourth Kind's sidekick now." Answered Kaminari. "The guy from his first internship."_

_"I thought he didn't like him?" Jirou countered._

_"Nah, that's just because that first time he made him and Tetsutetsu just kill time all week. He's much more serious now that Kirishima's his sidekick."_

At that point, Ochako stopped reading since the messages had gotten off topic. She skimmed all the way down to the most recent messages, keeping a close eye on the TV and Kirishima's continued struggle to get the increasing news reporters to leave. At some point, he fell for Hinata Teodasu's charms because he ultimately succumbed to her prying questions, probably not realizing he shouldn't be talking about the case without consulting with Fourth Kind, first.

_"So, take us through the events of this night, Red Riot." Hinata insisted. "What drives a newbie sidekick to run after a villain all by himself?"_

_ Kirishima's grin faltered a bit and his eyes widened in unabashed confusion. "What do you mean? I didn't go after him."_

Ochako's phone started buzzing again, but she was wise enough to ignore her former classmates' gossip this time. She had completely forgotten about her ramen, which had surely devolved into an overcooked mess of too-soft noodles by now.

_"Then who was the sidekick who ran after the villain?" Hinata pressed. "We have multiple reports. Are you trying to say those reports are false?"_

_ "No, no, no, no!" Kirishima tried to backpedal, nervously eyeing the many cameras on him and probably just now realizing his mistake in talking to them. "I'm just saying it wasn't me. Ground zero back there was –"_

_ Suddenly, a swift kick from a dark colored boot sent Kirishima flying past the cameras as The Rabbit Hero: Mirko landed in his spot with a grumpy look on her face. She forced a smile to her lips for the cameras as she placed her hands on her hips in annoyance._

Immediately after recognizing the dark-skinned hero, Ochako snatched her phone and dialed a number she called so often now that she had it memorized.

"Hello?"

"Deku-kun!"

"Hi, Uraraka. Are you reading everyone's messages, too?"

"Mhm." She nodded even though she knew he couldn't see her. "What do you think about it?"

Deku chuckled. "Well, I'm actually on patrol right now so I haven't seen the actual news yet – just whatever people are posting online about it."

Ochako's rosy cheeks grew hot with embarrassment at the thought of pestering him on a patrol. "I'm sorry! I didn't realize you were working!"

She could hear him getting flustered on his end. "No, no, it's alright! I swear! I wouldn't have picked up if I was busy!"

Ochako paused, supposing that to be true enough.

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

"Well…" she hesitated, realizing she didn't actually need to bother Midoriya with this when a simple search on her phone would probably do the trick. "It's just that I'm watching the news right now and Mirko is there…"

"Mirko?" Deku echoed in cautious appreciation. "She's the Top Hero with a rabbit-based quirk. She attacks mostly with her powerful legs, and her costume seems to be designed around that fact since the steel-plates on her boots are modified to look like rabbit feet…" He continued to ramble until Ochako clearing her throat snapped him out of it. "But wait – if Mirko is there, then that means…"

_ Despite the notoriously boisterous hero in front of her, the reporter Hinata Teodasu continued her interrogation. She shoved her microphone in Mirko's face. _

_ "Who is this Ground Zero?" She demanded. "Is that the name of the sidekick who rushed in after the villain tonight?" _

"That's what I was afraid of." Ochako breathed into the phone, gut wrenching at the fact that Deku managed to confirm her suspicions. "Bakugo-kun is her sidekick...so where is he?"

Putting her phone on speaker, Ochako went back to the U.A. group chat and assumed Deku was doing the same judging by the silence from his end as well. After scrolling past the irrelevant conjectures about Kirishima's involvement, Ochako finally found a message about Bakugo. It was from the last person she expected – Shouto Todoroki – and he had asked the same question that Ochako had asked Midoriya.

His question had sent the group chat into a frenzy, as everybody began to come to the same conclusion. Bakugo, currently working as Mirko's sidekick, was the reckless newbie who had chased the villain into the warehouse and detonated all those gasoline tanks.

_"Who's Ground Zero?" Mina suddenly interrupted the discourse in the group chat about Bakugo to ask the question of the night. "The reporter keeps bugging Mirko about it and now someone else just asked again."_

_"They're the sidekick who ran after the villain." Mineta replied, unhelpfully._

_"I thought we decided Bakugo was the one who ran in?" Kaminari whined, tossing in a confused-looking emoji to drive his frustration home. "He's Mirko's sidekick after all, isn't he?"_

_"But Bakugo's hero name is Kacchan." Sero stated. "We all agreed it made him sound less scary."_

_"It definitely beats King Explosion Murder!" Mina's laugh could be heard even without any emoticons._

_"Everyone…watch the news." Tsu-chan proclaimed._

Ochako whipped around to the tv screen, chocolate orbs widening at the sight of a bulky figure approaching from the smoldering remnants of the harbor. His silhouette was unmistakable in his hero costume, large gauntlets giving him that undeniably striking swagger as he trudged forward.

"Oh, thank God." Ochako breathed.

"What is it?" Deku's voice startled her, forgetting that she still had him on speaker phone. "What's going on?"

"It's Bakugo." She clarified. "He's alive." She squinted at the screen as he came into clearer view. "It looks like he's carrying someone…I think – I think it's the villain!"

Deku seemed to chuckle, though it held no real humor in it. "That's Kacchan for you. Even with someone as ferocious as Mirko threatening to punish him, he'll still do what he wants."

Ochako laughed, feeling more relieved than she expected herself to be. "I guess that will never change. He's not going to make a very good sidekick that way – but I guess he's not aiming to be the world's #1 _sidekick_, though."

"No. He's not."

"Deku-kun?" His tone caught her off guard.

"Sorry, Uraraka. I should get going – it doesn't look good for me to be on the phone during a patrol."

"Oh, I'm sorry about that!" She exclaimed a little too eagerly. "I'll let you go! Let's talk again soon!"

"Sure. Goodnight, Uraraka."

"Goodnight, Deku-kun." She placed her phone back on the table just as Sayaka, otherwise known as the rescue hero Gaia, sat up from the sofa with a feline stretch.

The woman who ran the agency with her older husband peered around the lounge and smiled when she spotted her young sidekick.

"Welcome, Ochako-chan." She greeted. "How's it going?"

Ochako watched Bakugo's expletive-riddled tirade against his new moniker in a daze. He had looked so heroic just a minute earlier, stomping through the ash and smoke with a K-O'd villain draped over his shoulder. He was covered in soot and blood and sweat and didn't seem bothered by any of it. He plopped the unconscious villain on the ground and rolled his shoulder with a pensive scowl on his face. But the entire façade vanished the very moment he opened his mouth.

_"I dunno what you heard, lady, but that ain't my name!"_ He warned, reminding Ochako of his long-standing disdain for reporters. Ever since his encounter with the sludge villain in junior high, Bakugo had always been annoyed by the press.

_"I don't know." Kirishima teased him openly on the air, slinging an arm around his recently-vacated shoulders. "I think Ground Zero sounds manly. It's intimidating."_

_ Bakugo slapped Red Riot's arm off of him and stormed off with an irked Mirko following close behind to loudly lecture him._

Deku wasn't kidding when he'd called her ferocious. The last thing Ochako saw before the camera panned away from them was Mirko snatching the flares of Bakugo's mask to drag his ear closer to her yelling. In return, he gave her long ears an enraged tug until she finally relented and released him with a pained howl. They both stumbled away from the other for a moment, rubbing their respective injuries and glaring at their partner before continuing on their way. With a healthy distance between themselves.

Sayaka stood and shut off the TV after that, giving Ochako a friendly smile. She spotted the abandoned ramen container sitting near the electric single-burner and surmised what had happened. Looking up at the clock on the wall, she turned to her hungry sidekick.

"How about we grab a bite to eat before we head out?" She offered. "We still have some time before we officially start."

Ochako seemed to shake her head clear of her thoughts before nodding eagerly – never one to turn down a free meal.

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**A/N: **So since this took place five years ago fresh after their graduation, everybody is probably between 17-19 years old give or take some months in-between. I really like the idea of Mirko and Bakugo teaming up even though they both seem averse to partnering up in general. I feel like their personalities are so similar that they would hate each other while simultaneously being an amazing hero duo, if that makes any sense at all you. I'll be exploring their relationship some more because I can't get enough of it. Also, someone correct me in a review or PM if I'm wrong, but Bakugo STILL doesn't have an official hero name right? Ground Zero has been floating around for such a long time that it's become his unofficial "official" name, so I wanted to allude to that by having him reject it initially in this fic. I also really liked the idea that since he inadvertently gave Izuku his hero name "Deku", that it would be a nice callback if he returned the favor by ultimately taking Izuku's nickname for him as his official name in this fic. And if he was going to take on ANOTHER unintentional name, it would have to had been from Kirishima for it to stick as we saw here. But don't worry, he won't go by Kacchan for very long here. I promise!


	2. Plus Ultra Living Space

**UPROAR**

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**Summary:** Just because you're a Pro doesn't mean you're immune to the shit life throws your way. But that's part of the fun, right? Right…? Ugh, All Might made it all look so easy. Aged-up. Rated T for now. Connected drabble series.

**A/N:** Hello again! I hope the timeline I'm using doesn't get too confusing because I actually managed to get lost in it myself. So last chapter was 5 years before the "present day" that we'll be seeing in a few chapters, so this chapter is 2 years before the "present day." I'm just using the 3 years later tag below because it's technically 3 years after the last chapter/graduation. So everybody should be about 20 or 21 here if I did my math right. And I _think_ I did my math right. Eh, I just hope it makes sense the way I explained it because I wound up breaking this chapter up into 2 or 3 pieces. It was just getting too long for my liking, hence the double-chapter update tonight. Personally, I enjoy reading fics that are only about 2000 words in length if they're multi-chapter, so I usually try to stick to that limit in my own writing. But of course, once I get on a roll I can't stop, so I wind up breaking them up. Anywho, without any further rambling, enjoy! We're still with Ochako in this chapter and we'll see more of the same format with the italics for TV, underline for phone calls, and underline-italics for the Line messages. Hopefully that's not too jarring to read, either! Gah! Enough! Enjoy already!

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Chapter 2: Plus Ultra Living Space

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Three Years Later (AKA Two Years Ago/Before Present Day)

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Ochako nearly tripped up the stairs in her haste to get through the door. She narrowly avoided colliding into one of Deku's neighbors leaving their apartment, but luckily the reflexes she'd honed as a hero prevented her from slamming into their door as they came out. She gave the old lady an apologetic smile, which lessened their frown to a forced look of disapproval. They knew she was also a hero, but more importantly than that, she was a very good friend of the sweet and diligent boy next door. So, she was willing to tolerate her rude behavior just this once if it meant avoiding upsetting the Pro Hero Deku.

"Be more careful." She admonished, closing their door calmly and locking it behind her. She waited for Ochako to move out of the way. "You could have hurt someone."

"Yes!" Ochako squeaked, eagerly stepping aside to let the old woman by. "I'm so sorry! I'll try to be more careful next time!"

She gave her a terse smile in return before heading for the elevator down the hall. "You know…Midoriya-san isn't home."

"I know." Ochako grinned. "I'm heading over to watch him on TV right now!"

Satisfied with leaving the woman in the hallway in astonishment, Ochako quickly fished Deku's key out of her purse and trotted over to his door. She unlocked it and all but leapt inside. She impatiently cast her shoes off, letting them land wherever gravity chose before finally pushing herself through the door of the foyer and into the apartment.

Skill and talent had gotten Deku far, but all-too-often Ochako realized that he was just lucky. Thanks to all the connections he'd made over the years, he was able to rise remarkably quickly through the hero rankings. He was nowhere near Top 10 status yet, but the notoriously penny-pinching girl would easily take that bet without a second thought. It wasn't so much a matter of whether or not he _would ever_ break the Top 10, but more a matter of _how long_ it would take him to do so. He'd managed to maintain his status as #32 for about a year and a half now, so the Top Ten wasn't such an unrealistic goal after all.

But even without such a high rank, Deku's agency was big and successful enough to house him luxuriously. His apartment was a suite that used to belong to a hero who retired in order enjoy the quiet of the countryside. Deku was again lucky in his timing since his arrival happened to coincide with the departure, so he was housed immediately.

Ochako wasn't sure of the exact square footage, but the entire apartment felt bigger than her parents' whole house. It was grandiose and very Western-style. Coming from such a meager background, she couldn't help but jump at the opportunity whenever Deku invited her over. She loved the luxury of it all, but she could tell Deku wasn't comfortable with it. She felt that it overwhelmed him in the sense that he would never own enough things to be able to decorate the place in the way that it deserved. All Might memorabilia excluded, of course.

The suite had all the basics, plus a lot of extra. She often jokingly called his place the "Plus Ultra" of apartments, which she hoped made him feel less self-conscious about it.

Dark hardwood floors ran throughout all of the rooms, except the bathroom and balconies (yes, there was more than one), and all the walls were painted a basic whitish color. "Whitish" because the shade seemed to change depending on the lighting of the room. The foyer was a separate room that led to the outside, with a single step that separated the "outside" from the "inside" door. Deku had a set of shelves for his shoes on the left and a closet for his coats and whatever else to the right. Stepping up through the foyer door, he had placed a small throw rug on the floor at her insistence since he didn't have one outside.

To the front-left was the toilet and bathroom, which boasted a floor-length mirror and a deep soaking tub with jacuzzi jets in addition to a multi-angle showerhead that Ochako took full advantage of whenever she could. To the right of the foyer door was the kitchen. The same dark colored wood that made up his floors also covered his cabinets. He had all stainless-steel appliances and some kind of black countertops, but Ochako didn't care to know if they were marble or granite. It was one of those eat-in kitchens that had a large "step-down" countertop at the end with tall barstools so people could eat casually next to each other.

To the back of this was the living room, knowingly arranged so that the 100" smart-TV was visible from both the eat-in kitchen area _and_ the formal dining area. Other than the bathroom, this was her favorite room. The television was an ostentatious monstrosity and she was wholeheartedly in love with it. It was big enough to justify calling it a theater room and just "smart" enough to stump her more often than not. In fact, she'd asked Deku to keep the TV set to the channel that his interview would be hosted on, just to be safe. Tonight was not the night to figure out which input channel the cable news was on.

Just beyond the living room was the main balcony with curtained sliding glass doors that Ochako hated. She'd seen enough movies to know better than to go out there when she was alone. In a quiet corner just past the balcony was Deku's library, furnished with a single worn-in armchair and standing lamp. As the years had passed, the more the bookshelves had filled with both his notebooks and regular books. Though the latter would probably always outnumber the former, if she was going to be honest.

And finally, next to the library and right across from the bathroom was the bedroom. Unsurprisingly, Deku's bed was a king – only because the former tenant had already left that size box spring behind and the agency figured it would just be easier to replace it with the same sized mattress. Or so went the story he'd been told when he vented his frustrations with the unnecessary luxury of it all. The second smaller balcony was in this room, attached to a single sliding glass door even though it was still connected to the main one by the living room. He had a walk-in closet that boasted a floor-length vanity mirror with those old-Hollywood lightbulbs encircling it. The TV in Deku's bedroom was much more modest and was a gift from his mother, which Ochako was much more adept at using.

But tonight was a special night that demanded the grandeur of the 100" screen in the living room. So, after grabbing a quick snack from the pantry in the kitchen, Ochako settled herself into the plush sofa and hunkered down for the night. Deku was away for the night because of this interview, so he'd asked Ochako to stay over to housesit. It was a pretty regular occurrence that she didn't mind at all since the pair didn't live too far away from each other anyway. It would take her about the same commute time to get to work in the evening, just in the opposite direction.

She'd made it back with a few minutes to spare before the interview began, worry beginning to set in since she hadn't heard from him all day. On the opposite end, their U.A. group chat had seemingly risen from the dead for the first time in nearly a year as their old classmates began to chime in with their thoughts on the interview.

Comments ranged from general well-wishes to mild jealousy to playful jabs wondering how such a plain-looking guy managed to score a primetime interview with Hinata Teodasu. The theme of the night would be, of course, U.A.'s hero courses and how the academy was able to consistently pump out Pro Hero after Pro Hero. Deku had been asked a few weeks ago if he'd be willing to participate since their class had become a bit of a local legend thanks to all the excitement they'd experienced since their first year began. He hadn't thought to ask who else would be joining him in the interview, which surprised Ochako since that was the very first thing she'd wondered.

As the minutes wound down, the group chat came alive, and before she knew it, there was Hinata Teodasu in a deep mauve pantsuit with a satin champagne-colored pussycat bow beneath. She wore a pair of severe-looking glasses with thin square frames and had the stiletto of her nude pointed-toe heels securely hooked into the bottom of her chair. She looked every part the regal interviewer, and it only made Ochako just that much more nervous for Deku.

_"Welcome to __Helping Hands with Hinata__." She greeted with too much severity. "I'm your host, Hinata Teodasu, and I'm sitting here tonight with three young and exceptional Pro Heroes."_

_ The camera left her to pan over to her guests. _

_ "Tonight, our guests start with the hero known simply as Deku."_

_ The young man in question gave a stiff wave and a freckled smile that sought to conceal his nerves but in fact did just the opposite. _

_ "Next to him is the Jet-Black Hero: Tsukuyomi." Fumikage Tokoyami closed his sharp eyes before giving the host a deep nod in greeting, arms pensively crossed over his chest. _

_ "And, last but _certainly_ not least, the explosive hero Ground Zero."_

_ Bakugo visibly flinched as the camera seized the moment and zoomed in on him. His lip curled in annoyance and he clenched the arms of his chair to keep the sparks at bay._

_ "That's not my name!" He barked, as Deku attempted to dissipate some tension with a friendly smile. _

_ "Oh, that's right." Hinata peered down at the notes she had been provided at some point before the broadcast began. "My apologies, but you have to admit that _is_ how you're most widely known. Why not just change it? It would spare a lot of trouble in the future." She gave a tiny chuckle. "It packs more of a punch, I think." _

_ "If two syllables confuse you, you're dumber than you look, Pantsuit." He growled. "It's Kacchan. Kaaaaaaa-chaaaaaaaan." He dragged it out to drive his point home. _

_ Hinata was clutching her notes a little tighter than before and she adjusted her glasses a bit mechanically. "Again. My apologies." She cleared her throat. "My final guest, the explosion hero _Kacchan_." _

_ Bakugo rolled his eyes, somehow still unsatisfied even though he'd gotten his way. _

Ochako's phone was going wild with notifications, but she ignored them as Hinata started things off.

_ "Now that we're done with introductions, let's move on. I thank you all for being here tonight. As I'm sure the audience is well-aware, it isn't easy for Pro Heroes to take time off. That being said, we were originally supposed to have the top three finalists from your class' Sports Festival here tonight, but the son of the #1 Top Hero Endeavor, the Half-Hot Half-Cold Hero Shouto couldn't make it tonight due to a schedule conflict." She paused, turning to Midoriya. "So, we're glad that you were available, Deku-kun. May I call you that?" _

_ He nodded enthusiastically, red in the face and struggling to form proper words. _

_ "Right." Hinata shuffled her notes. "Then, shall we get started? U.A. High School has held the number one spot as the top school for aspiring heroes, year after year. In your experiences, what reasons can you think of to explain why it manages to be so consistently successful in creating long-lasting heroes?" She paused. "Tsukuyomi, why don't you start us off? You're the former protégé of the #2 Winged Hero: Hawks, after all, who _is_ the highest ranking hero that did _not_ actually attend U.A. I'm sure your opinion will be the most interesting because of this."_

_ "Well." Tokoyami began, shifting in his seat even though he never unfolded his arms. "While I personally believe that nothing can replace the value of a good education, I also believe that nothing can beat good old-fashioned experience. I think we were lucky to be able to have had both before and after we were officially licensed. It was truly a one of a kind time in our lives." _

_ Hinata nodded in agreement. "That is certainly one way of putting it, I suppose…considering your graduating class has become something of a local legend thanks to all of the tragedies that occurred during your first year. From villain encounters to kidnappings to the retirement of the former #1 Pro Hero All Might, it's no wonder the school started boarding students at their Heights Alliance that same year. I'm curious what your take is on all of that, Ground—I mean, Kacchan. You were the one at the center of many of these events, were you not?" _

_ Bakugo's mouth tensed into a thin line, but that was thankfully the extent of his reaction before Deku swiftly interrupted his answer. _

_ "I think it's the diversity at U.A. that really makes it such a great place to learn!" He happily chirped, thankfully taking the heat off his oldest friend. "It's not just a school for aspiring Top Heroes. There's also the General Ed Department, the Department of Management, and of course the Support Department. We're much more than just the Hero Department, which I think gets most of the public's attention." _

_ "Indeed." Hinata nodded, not caring to give him a proper response since her attempt at getting another rise out of Bakugo had been thwarted by him. "Tsukuyomi mentioned your experiences before and after your hero licensing exam. Can you bring us back to that time for all the viewers out there who may be studying for that exact exam?" She peered down at her notes again. "Kacchan, my notes indicate that you and Shouto were the only two in your class to fail the exam initially. Would you care to explain what happened?"_

_ He scoffed in response, giving Deku a lethal side-eye before he tried to rescue him again. "Sure. We didn't _fail _the exam. We passed it six months later after taking a training course that qualified us even more for the license."_

_ Hinata's eyes flashed like a bloodhound. "So, you think that failing initially makes you more qualified than those who passed on the first try? That's quite fascinating – I wonder what your peers think about that declaration?"_

The screen flashed to photos from their first Sports Festival and the various press conferences from that same year. When the feed focused on the medal ceremony from their infamous Sports Fest, Ochako frowned. She could see where things were going and resented them for taking such a screeching U-turn off the high road. They panned over the podium, showing Tokoyami in 3rd, Todoroki in 2nd, and pausing over the image of a bound and gagged Bakugo in 1st place. Deku's keen green eyes seemed to catch onto this when, on the screen behind their seats, a muted clip showing a K.O.'d Ochako laying before a looming Bakugo in the destroyed ring was played next.

_ "I don't think that's the point Kacchan was trying to make." Deku declared, brows a bit furrowed in disappointment after seeing through their host's intentions._

_ "Likewise." Tokoyami agreed with a solemn nod. "The heroes Kacchan and Shouto placed first and second, respectively, at our Sports Festival, as shown. So, I find it shameful that you choose to bring up their scores on the initial hero licensing exam instead of the commendations on the growth and knowledge they experienced after passing."_

_ Bakugo eyed Tokoyami with a scowl, but the latter didn't bother to officially acknowledge him. _

_ "Furthermore, I do not believe in judging a hero's capabilities in just one aspect of their lives as you've apparently chosen to do. And that is all I wish to say about that."_

* * *

**A/N:** Like I said, I'm breaking this chapter up into shorter parts just so it's easier to read. So, even though we ended kind of right in the middle of the interview here, it isn't over yet. Which is good because I'm not done tormenting Bakugo yet either!


	3. Knucklehead and Blockhead

**UPROAR**

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**Summary:** Just because you're a Pro doesn't mean you're immune to the shit life throws your way. But that's part of the fun, right? Ugh, All Might made it all look so easy. Aged-up. Rated T for now. Connected drabble series.

**A/N:** Hello, hello! Here's part two/the finale of the TV interview. Don't feel bad if you don't like Hinata Teodasu. You're not really supposed to ;) Anyway, this part of the interview kind of goes more into how Deku and Bakugo's rivalry has evolved and matured a bit over the years…and it was just fun as all hell to write! Next chapter should be out shortly :) Enjoy!

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Chapter 3: Knucklehead and Blockhead

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Helping Hands with Hinata Interview, finale

* * *

There was a long moment of silence onscreen in which Ochako's phone began to buzz so incessantly that she had to turn off her notifications altogether. This interview was quickly dissolving into a tense standoff between Hinata and her guests, and Ochako couldn't tell if she was doing it on purpose to boost her ratings or if she was just that terrible of a host.

_"Well, I do believe I owe you another apology, Kacchan." Hinata gave a small chuckle though there was no warmth in it. "It's quite clear you are all still close despite the three years since graduation. So, let's focus on the future now that we've gotten a glimpse of your past at U.A."_

The three former classmates waited for their next question with less enthusiasm than before. Ochako sat on the couch in astonishment at Bakugo's stoicism. A few years ago, he would have blown his chair to smithereens and would have had to be held back before daring the host to insult him again. She had planned to watch the interview expecting to agonize over Deku's visible nerves, but now she couldn't take her eyes off his brooding rival. She'd been under the naïve impression that not much had changed since their graduation, but apparently, she'd been very wrong.

_"Tsukuyomi, you've risen quite rapidly through the hero ranks thanks to your association with the #2 hero, Hawks. Being the only hero on this panel who is still a sidekick, your fans want to know if you see something more for yourself in the future." Hinata managed to get her interview back on track, but it was clear that the boys were not as eager to answer her as they were before. _

Gone were their TV jitters, probably overtaken by the new feeling of resentment they felt towards her questions. Interviews were supposed to be one of the easier parts of being a hero. Well, maybe not _easier_ per se, but definitely not as tricky or dangerous as fighting a villain. The media and the heroes always used to work together in a symbiotic relationship, but it was a different world now. In the past, peace was maintained not only because of All Might's presence, but also by his reputation that the media shared with the world. Were it not for the glimmering grin he flashed for the cameras in the most desperate of situations, the crime rates would have been much, much worse.

But ever since his retirement, those enormous shoes were meant to be filled by the remaining Top Heroes, who were not ready for such a sudden exodus. Certainly not Endeavor, at least, who had become the new #1. And while he had done a lot to repair his reputation, it would never be enough to reach All Might's status in the public's heart.

That being said, a slew of new shows had begun to pop up over the years. Particularly, investigative shows that focused more on the regular police force's efforts to curtail crime, and less on romanticizing the Pro Heroes. There were very few in the immediate aftermath of All Might's departure, but as both time and the crime rate went unchecked, more of these cynical series began to appear.

And Ochako couldn't understand their appeal. What did these journalists hope to achieve by undermining the heroes that kept them safe? Sure, maybe some people got their kicks by watching a hero squirm under the lens of invasive questions during an otherwise standard interview, but what good did it truly do to try and sabotage their reputations? In her opinion, the crime rate would never start to decrease again until the heroes and these kinds of journalists began to get along again. Because all it was doing was giving the wrong kinds of people the right kinds of information, plus a soapbox to stand on.

_Tokoyami chuckled, the first show of any sort of emotion from him all night. "While I thank my fans for their support, they should know that I am happy where I am. I believe I still have a lot to learn from Hawks and hope to do so before officially setting off on my own."_

_ Hinata smiled warmly at his honest and eloquent answer, which seemed to ease some of the former tension in the room. She turned to Deku next, lest she risk poking the bear in Bakugo again. _

_ "You've been on your own for over two years now, isn't that right?" She asked. "Why be a sidekick for only a year? Some would argue that's too short a time."_

Ochako felt her heart seize in her chest as she grew anxious for Deku. It was the first direct question of the night that didn't require him to piggyback off someone else's answer. She could see the way his spine stiffened and his how his hands clenched into fists atop his knees, probably fighting off the urge to nervously ramble off the reason why he transferred from his first agency after only a year. She held her breath as she mentally ran through how he could have worded his answer without revealing too much personal information. Even Bakugo seemed to shift in his seat in anticipation of how his childhood friend would answer the unintentionally personal question.

In truth, Deku's mother had fallen ill a few months after graduation and hadn't been well since. It was as though the composure she'd struggled to maintain during his schooling had finally left her body after his graduation. And after a dizzy spell sent her tumbling down the stairs of their old apartment building, it was Deku's turn to fret over _her_ wellbeing. He transferred to an agency closer to his old home and insisted that she move into his ridiculously oversized apartment the very moment she was discharged 3 days later. But she had refused, stubbornly insisting that it was his time to live his life and no mother could ever be so selfish. She would not be a burden to him after all he had been through to achieve his dreams. So, he reluctantly compromised and bought her a new apartment after transferring. One that had an elevator for her to use. He also paid her rent and visited whenever he could.

_"Well, it wasn't exactly something I'd planned." Deku finally answered with a sheepish smile. "But there were a few things going on in my life at the time that all seemed to point me in the same direction. So, I chose to take it as a sign and discussed my options with my agency. They suggested the transfer, and I just try to do my best to make a difference no matter where I am." He shrugged with another nervous smile._

It would never cease to amaze Ochako how timid Deku still was no matter how strong he became or how much he improved controlling all of his quirks. He was the odd type who would take on multiple villains at once on his own without a second thought…but then second-guess going to dinner because it'd made him late and he was afraid of being scolded.

_"Oh…that sounds like it must have been tough." Hinata nodded in solidarity. "But tell our captivated viewers – was one of those issues a _girl_?"_

Ochako's cheeks began to heat up as she squirmed on the sofa, looking everywhere around the living room _except_ the TV. She suddenly began to feel incredibly guilty for sitting pretty in Deku's apartment like some kind of exhibit A in his love trials.

_ Deku instantly turned red and started shaking his head vigorously. "No, no, no, no, no!" _

_ Bakugo released a snort, which made Deku freeze and suddenly change his mind._

_ "Actually…" He backpedaled. "Technically, yeah, I guess it was."_

_ At this, Hinata threw Bakugo a suspicious glare, so he covered his smirk with his hand and focused his gaze elsewhere, which made Deku chuckle as they shared a bond over the inside joke._

Ochako couldn't help but recover her composure after witnessing this show of camaraderie. Of course, his childhood friend would have known about his mother's condition. In fact, ever since their secret fight after the licensing exam, their _mothers_ had become fast friends all over again, bonded over the trials and tribulations of raising their stubborn sons – Katsuki the Knucklehead and Izuku the Blockhead. And now, after hearing about her downturn in health, Mitsuki made sure to always check in on Inko in what she believed to be inconspicuous ways. But they were in fact quite the opposite. The two lived nowhere near the other, so every surreptitious visit of being in the neighborhood and deciding to drop by would fall apart under the mildest of scrutiny.

_"Surely you're not just going to leave your fans on _that_!" Hinata exclaimed. "Tell us! Who is the girl you care for so much that it made you transfer agencies before your first year was even over?"_

_ Deku merely gave her another sheepish smile, hand on the back of his neck as apology. "I didn't mean to sound so mysterious! That was just one of the reasons I transferred, though. The rest I can't really say without running it by my superiors first! I'm sorry!" He gave a deep bow for the camera in the hopes it would finally get Hinata off his back. _

_ "So, there _is_ no woman in your life right now…?" Hinata's enthusiasm seemed to visibly deflate._

_ Deku shook his head negatively as he resettled himself in his seat. "No, I'm afraid not. Not like that, anyway." He chuckled, eyeing the camera that seemed to glare at him._

Ochako's face began to warm again as she felt like Deku was looking straight at her through the screen.

_"I'm sorry to disappoint my fans, but I have all that I need waiting for me back at my apartment." He mustered up a wink for the camera, still blushing before he finally turned back to Hinata. "But I'm sure Kacchan's or Tsukuyomi's love life will be much more interesting than mine."_

_ "Haaah?!" Exclaimed Bakugo, nearly leaping out of his seat to growl at Deku. "Don't go deflecting your questions onto me, you damn nerd!" _

Ochako couldn't be bothered to pay attention to the broadcast after that. Bakugo's ranting and raving at Deku had fallen on deaf ears at that point. Ears that were so hot from blushing that she elected to remove the mint-colored cardigan she'd been wearing lest she sweat through the damn thing. She plucked her phone off the table and stared at the screen, a little relieved that her classmates were also in the process of having a meltdown. To the everyday viewer, Deku's behavior would have been dismissed as typical hero showboating…but to those in the know of the true awkward and bashful Deku, that kind of sudden charisma was sending a much different and very intentional message to someone.

_WHO THE HELL IS MIDORIYA DATING?!__ Kaminari demanded with urgency._

_He didn't tell me he had a girlfriend!__ Iida's disappointment seemed tangible even through text. _

_A 'live-in' girlfriend! Didn't you hear him say she was waiting for him at home?!__ Came the clever Ashido's clarification. _

_Who is it?__ Wondered Jirou. _

_It's probably someone we don't know that he met in the town where he works.__ Yaoyorozu guessed. _

_Hahahaha who else is busting a gut over Bakugo fighting with the host right now?__ Kirishima interrupted with several laughing emojis. __This poor girl's show is probs gonna get cancelled bc of him!_

_Yeah, I'd feel bad for any girl who had to come home to either of their faces every day!__ Mineta chimed in with his own laughing emojis. _

_You realize they're all in this chat, right? They're all going to see these later. Do you even know how group chats work?__ Snapped Jirou. _

_Yeah, so? What are they gonna do, track me down and beat me up for it?__ It was no surprise that Mineta's bravery came in the form of anonymity. Distant anonymity. _

_Not right now, but I'm sure Bakugo-san will make you pay for it the next time we all meet up…__ Was Jirou's cool response. _

_Oh, crap I forgot about him…!__ Mineta sent several dogeza-style stickers as apology._

In the midst of reading her classmates bickering, Ochako received a private message from her closest friend, Asui:

_"Do your best!"__ Tsu-chan followed it up with a winking Froppy-emoji. __"Just ignore everybody else – if they knew it was you that Midoriya-san was talking about, they wouldn't be saying all those rude things."_

Asui had managed to find quick and immense popularity thanks to her incredible abilities as a rescue hero. It also helped that her quirk was so marketable. She'd managed to find moderate fame in her region because of it, part of which apparently included a line of emojis and stickers for purchase through messaging apps.

But Ochako found no relief in her friend's words. Nor the words being spoken on TV for that matter.

_"So, you're saying you'll never date while you're a Pro Hero?!" Hinata had thrown professionalism to the wind and was now engaged in a full-on argument with Bakugo. "That means you plan on waiting until you're a retired old man! That's completely unrealistic!" _

_ Deku wore an anxious look on his face as he and the visibly irked Tokoyami were stuck between the two combatants. _

_ "I'm not saying I'm waiting until I'm retired!" Bakugo barked back. "I'm saying that as a Pro Hero, the more popular you are the bigger a liability everyone around you becomes!" _

_ "So as long as you're a hero, you won't ever date!" Hinata shot back like they were drunkenly arguing at a bar. Both seemed to forget the cameras were still rolling. Live. "Just answer the question for your fans!" _

_ Bakugo growled in frustration, palms sparking and clenching his fists to keep from sweating too much more. "It's like the lights are on but no one's home with you, lady!" He huffed. "I'm not a hero so I can date every girl I save! Having a girlfriend or fiancé when you're facing down villains every day is like putting a giant target on their backs! D'you get it?! It's just not worth the trouble!"_

_ Hinata scowled, clearly unwilling to agree to disagree. "So, what does that mean for all the heroes out there who _are_ dating and marrying and having kids together? What are you saying about Deku-kun and his girlfriend, then?"_

_ Bakugo looked at her like she'd sprouted a second head. "What the hell do I care about what that means for everyone else? Especially Deku! You asked me about myself!" _

_ In the background, Deku seemed to breathe a sigh of relief that he would not be badgered about his love life all over again. _

_ "That is so selfish." Hinata sneered. "There are children watching you at home right now." _

_ Bakugo was gnashing his teeth together at this point, so Deku decided to step in. _

_ "I think what Kacchan is trying to say is that as a hero, it's riskier to date because you're in the public eye and in dangerous situations more frequently than others are." He stated diplomatically. "So, he's probably being more selective with his partners than others have to be." _

_ Tokoyami seemed to turn up his nose at the back-and-forth. "None of this actually matters in the end…"_

* * *

**A/N:** Soooooo…of course it would be Bakugo who would drag out the unprofessionalism out of a professional reporter XD Also, this chapter's title actually comes from a panel in the manga where Mirio asks Deku's hero name, which can be translated in Japanese to mean "blockhead" which is what he takes it as, which had me rolling when I read it! (You can actually find the panel if you google something like "bnha deku blockhead" etc to see for yourself – his cheerful acceptance of being called Blockhead is worth the search alone!) And if Deku is a blockhead, then Bakugo has to be a knucklehead! As for the next chapter, it should be out soon!


	4. Go Beyond!

**UPROAR**

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**Summary:** Just because you're a Pro doesn't mean you're immune to the shit life throws your way. But that's part of the fun, right? Right…? Ugh, All Might made it all look so easy. Aged-up. Rated T for now. Connected drabble series.

**A/N:** Ok so I guess THIS chapter is technically the "real" end of the Hinata interview. Also, caution…because here be citrus! High T for this one but I'm just covering my own ass here, it's nothing compared to what I'm planning to post in later chapters. But either way, here's your warning about some very mild smut.

* * *

Chapter 4: Go Beyond!

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Night of _Helping Hands with Hinata_ Interview

* * *

The interview suddenly cut to commercial and Ochako stretched out on the couch. It wasn't like she and Deku were intentionally keeping their friends in the dark about their relationship. It was just that they genuinely had no idea what they were to each other in the first place. So, they couldn't exactly announce that they were dating if they couldn't be 100 percent certain of that themselves.

Their relationship was both much more intimate yet much more distant than that. They saw each other at least three times a week or more if they made the effort to do so, but that was just what friends did when they worked so close to each other, right? And on nights when their jobs brought them into the other's neighborhood, it was often easier to just stay over instead of returning home too late. Because that's what friends did.

But one hot summer night, their friendship crossed the line into something more than just platonic. Ochako's tiny apartment was sparsely furnished, which made it perfect for his futon to fit on the floor. Unfortunately, the window she'd opened in order to cut the utility bill could do nothing more than blow hot air in from the outside.

_ Deku had awakened in the middle of the night to close it and sneakily turn on Ochako's air conditioning. But he was unable to find the remote control for it and wound up stumbling around in his search for it. Eventually, he'd given up since he had work in the morning and elected to turn it on manually. Carefully, he leaned over Ochako's bed to reach the buttons on the wall-mounted unit, struggling to reach without needing to climb onto it. But it was no use. He'd tried to avoid waking her, but unlike Uravity he couldn't control the way the weight of his body shifted the mattress and made her body fold into his lap. _

_ Frozen in fright from both the sudden proximity and fear of waking her, he struggled to find his balance again as he fought to keep a hand on the wall while he gently rolled her away. But it was no good. She was already awake, big brown eyes bleary in the darkness as she peered up at him with his hands on her shoulders. _

_ And that's when it happened._

_ To this day, she still wasn't sure what had made her so bold that night. Be it the darkness, the grogginess, or the perceived "first move" he'd made, the result remained the same. She sat up on her elbows and clasped her hand around the back of his neck to drag him down into a kiss so rough that he was left gasping for air when she finally released him. _

_ That was the first time they'd spent the night _not_ sleeping, struggling to keep their voices down in their fervent passions. It was like all the words they had failed to say over the years came pouring out of them all at once in the form of tangled limbs and needy embraces. It wasn't exactly the romantic evening that she'd always hoped it would be, but part of the fun was the spontaneity of it all. Neither could be called masters in this area of expertise, so for that one night they'd finally been on an equal playing field as they each did their best to please the other. _

_ But as the night wore on and the sky began to lighten, their fantasy quickly began to fade. With the sunlight came alarm clocks and work and responsibility. Their lovely bubble burst with the dawning of the real world just outside the window that seemingly started it all. _

_ Deku had departed with the first train, knowing Ochako's water tank ran out of hot water after one shower. And he didn't want to get into any more trouble than he'd already managed to get himself into by succumbing to the temptation of showering together. Because if he did, he knew neither of them would be making it to work that morning. Or afternoon, if he was being honest. So, he did the right thing and left, even though it was the first time he didn't want to do the right thing for once. _

Ochako sighed, as she usually did whenever her thoughts turned to that night. It was the only time something like that had ever happened between them. And ever since then, it was like Deku wanted to pretend that it never even happened in the first place. So, she'd always gone along with it. And the funny thing about trying to forget a memory is, after a while, it really did start to feel like it was only a fantasy.

It had been a little over a year now and Ochako was beginning to think she'd simply hallucinated the entire thing like it was some kind of fever dream. But hearing Hinata probe him about his love life stirred up old memories best left forgotten, and clearly something had been triggered within him as well. His green gaze had been so passionate when he'd addressed the camera to gently let down all of his fans. A fiery passion she didn't realize she'd been longing to see again.

He said he had everything he'd ever need waiting for him at home. In the apartment that had become like a second home to Ochako herself with all the waiting around she did for him. Was he trying to tell her that she was the only thing he'd ever need? Or was she reading too far into what could have just been that infamous hero showboating they all managed to fall prey to every once in a while?

And that wink! What was that about?

Well, she felt better knowing that Tsu-chan also saw what Ochako saw, at least. And Tsu-chan was the most level-headed person she knew. She reread her friend's message and started to wonder what she meant. Do your best? Her best what? Why was she being forced to decode peoples' messages tonight?!

_"Tsu-chan…help!"_ She wrote back, adding several sad Froppy stickers for flourish.

_"What's wrong now?"_ She answered, knowing her friend's dramatics too well to take her call for help seriously.

Ochako curled herself into a ball on the couch and sat with her back tightly packed against the armrest. Her arms tucked into her torso, she held the phone about an inch from her blushing face. Asui was the only one who knew about the night she and Deku had spent together, because she knew she could trust her. She had a feeling that Deku also had a confidant other than herself, but she couldn't muster up the courage to wonder about who it was. She couldn't stomach the idea of someone as close to her as Iida knowing something so personal about her. Or worse – someone as excitable as Aoyama, or even someone as proper as Todoroki. She gasped. Or even Bakugo-kun.

He and Deku were still definitely rivals, but a few years apart to grow in their own respects had turned them into strange bedfellows in certain aspects of their lives. And ever since Deku's mom had fallen ill, their heated rivalry had been dialed down to a simmering competition. Normally, Deku would be the one to open up a line of communication first. Usually, he'd ask for critiques about a fight of his that had been posted online, eagerly taking the advice to heart and immediately adopting it. But once, Bakugo had contacted him asking if he had any good pain medicine, since the ones he'd bought from the store weren't strong enough.

Ochako shuddered at the thought of _any_ of her old classmates knowing such intimate details about her. But _Bakugo-kun_ would have to be the last possible person she'd want to know. Out of their entire class, he'd always been the most crass and vulgar with his careless comments and brutal honesty. Of the many things people called him, a liar certainly was not one of them. For better or worse. And while Ochako had found many of his comments quite funny in the past, she didn't think she'd be able to handle them if they were ever directed her way.

She stared at her phone and imagined Tsu-chan sitting in her own living room with the _Helping Hands_ interview on mute in the background. She would patiently wait for Ochako's response, not the type to send another prodding message.

_"What do I do when he comes home?"_ Ochako typed out, heart leaping at the thought of the foyer door opening up at that exact moment.

_"If you're still there by that time, you can just ask him how the trip was."_ Asui answered. _"You're going to scare him if you pounce on him with your questions about what he meant during the interview." _

Ochako seemed to breathe easier after reading Asui's advice. It was as though the girl's tranquil aura was seeping through the phone to infiltrate Ochako's own space.

_"What if I make him lunch or dinner?"_ She wondered.

_"I don't see how that could hurt…"_ Asui was much more expressive through text than she was in real life. _"What time will he be home?"_

_"He said he's taking the bullet train back, so the only seats left were for the late afternoon tomorrow."_

_"That gives you more than enough time to cook."_

_"I know. But should I talk to him about the interview while we eat?"_

_"If you feel the time is right."_

Ochako hesitated, typing and deleting and retyping her response before deleting it all over again. What did Asui even mean by that? When could the right time to talk about a thing like this possibly be?! There hadn't been an opportune moment over the past year since it happened, so how could she be expected to suddenly find one by tomorrow?

_"Don't take this the wrong way…"__ Asui interrupted, and the dancing ellipses that signaled her typing away sent Ochako's gut into a spiral. __"You and Midoriya-kun don't like confrontation, so you'd both rather pretend like nothing happened and that everything is normal, than risk upsetting the other by discussing it. That's why you've never talked about your relationship before and keep walking on eggshells around each other. So if there was ever a time to finally rip that band-aid, I think that time is now."_

Ochako stared wide-eyed at the phone as if Asui were standing right in front of her.

_"You both like each other as more than just friends. Everybody can see it. Except you two. So whatever you decide to do, Ochako-chan, I know you will always be doing your best. You're smart and kind and you deserve to be happy. So be brave and grab hold of your happiness with both hands."_

Grab her happiness with both hands? The words seemed to echo throughout her mind as she peered down at the pink pads on her fingertips like they held all the answers in the world.

And then her phone began to ring.

"H-hello?" She couldn't help faltering considering her heart had nearly leapt out of her chest. It was probably Tsu-chan calling to make sure Ochako hadn't taken her lengthy messages too seriously since she'd come off a bit harsh that way in the past. But the voice that answered her greeting was most definitely _not_ Tsu-chan, unfortunately.

_"Hi, Uraraka."_ Deku replied. _"If you have a minute…could we talk?"_

Her face immediately began to flush, and she jumped off the couch. "Ah! Deku-kun! Of course!" She started pacing around his living room for lack of something better to do to dissipate her nerves. "What's on your mind? Wait, what about the interview?" She gazed back at the TV where _Helping Hands_ was already onto its second guest – just how long had she been distracted?!

Deku chuckled on the other end. _"Our segment ended a bit early thanks to Kacchan, actually."_ He sounded like he was outside somewhere judging by all the background noise. _"I'm heading back to my hotel right now before we head to dinner."_

"We?"

_"Tokoyami-san and I." _

Ochako could have slapped herself. "Right, of course! Duh."

She didn't know how much more of this she could take. A nice long soak in the tub sounded heavenly right about now. She'd crank those jacuzzi jets to their maximum setting and let them turn her tense muscles to jelly while a nice glass of wine put a numbing haze around her mind. Then she'd flop onto Deku's king size mattress and snuggle under his plush comforter until that bottle of red relaxed her right to sleep.

_"It's alright."_ He laughed again. _"Kacchan walked off the set as soon as we went to commercial…so he wasn't in the mood to come out with us." _

"I'm not surprised." She replied, still aimlessly wandering around the apartment. "The host really had it out for him for some reason."

_"It was so strange."_ Deku agreed. _"I'm glad you saw it too."_

There was a lull in their polite conversation in which Ochako could almost hear her own heart pounding in her chest. She recalled Tsu-chan's words from earlier and decided to take her advice…as best she could.

"I-is that all you wanted to…talk to me about?" She could hear the caution in her own voice and resented herself for it. This was _Deku_ for crying out loud! Her closest friend from her school days other than Tsu-chan! They'd been seeing each other in a platonic sense for years and were comfortable enough with each other to treat the other's apartments like their own! Why couldn't she get out of her own head? This wasn't high school anymore – she didn't have a reason to put her feelings on the back burner any longer. There was nothing at stake anymore – no more exams, no more assignments, no more grades!

Deku seemed to sigh. Or maybe he was taking a breath. She couldn't really tell with all the background noise on his end.

_"Actually, Uraraka…"_ He sounded hesitant. _"I wanted to ask you something." _He paused before suddenly going into overdrive. _"And it's alright if you say no, I'd completely understand because it's totally your choice and I know it's not really an easy thing to decide what with me just suddenly calling you up without warning to ask you something like this completely out of the blue when I really should be doing this face-to-face but after tonight I just don't think I'd be able to wait until tomorrow to ask you because to be honest I'm a little nervous too and I'm afraid that I'd lose my nerve if I didn't do this right now tonight and I was just wondering if maybe by any chance if you didn't have anything else to do if you wanted to go out with me?" _

Ochako's head was spinning and she stopped her pointless pacing to lean against the nearest wall to collect herself. What on earth did he just say? Did she hear him correctly?

_"H-hello?"_ Deku's voice sounded so small. _"Are – are you still there?" _

"I'm here." She breathed, face feeling hot enough to melt the screen of her phone. "Deku-kun…I don't know what to say…"

_"Ah! That's alright!"_ His forced cheerfulness was too much for her heart to bear.

She wished she could see his face, but the thought of actually looking him in the eye right now frightened her too much.

_"I understand!"_ He continued, forcing another laugh. _"It was silly of me to ask anyway since I'm sure we're both much too busy for things like dating and your career has been taking off so successfully recently that I'm sure you don't need another distraction like me weighing you down and I'm sorry for bothering you so late at night with something like this so can we just forget it ever happened and go back to –" _

"Deku-kun!" She shouted loudly enough to startle herself as well. "I'm sorry for giving you the wrong idea. I just needed a minute to process everything you said."

_"Oh…I see. I'm sorry – I tend to get a little ahead of myself sometimes."_

She had to remind herself that now was not the time to remark on what an understatement that was. Instead, she caught her breath and collected her thoughts as best she could in order to give him the answer he deserved.

"Deku-kun, we've known each other for the better part of five years now, and I have been struggling every day since I met you to find the right words to ask you this very same question."

_"Do you really mean that?"_

"Of course, I do!" She grinned, suddenly feeling weightless even though her feet were planted firmly on the floor. "You're an important person to me."

_"You mean a lot to me too, Uraraka."_ She could almost see the bashful smile on his face through the phone. _"Does…this mean…you'll go out with me?"_

She laughed to hide her own embarrassment. "Yes!" She squeaked. "Just hurry and come home tomorrow!"

_"I will! Please wait for me!"_ He declared. _"Goodnight, Uraraka. I'll see you when I get home tomorrow."_

She nodded, even though he couldn't see. "Goodnight, Deku-kun." She hung up the phone and collapsed onto the floor in disbelief. Her heart was racing too fast for a proper night's sleep and her mind was in a tizzy too steep for rest, but she took solace in the fact that Deku was probably feeling the same way as well.

* * *

**A/N:** Okay phew I'm calling it quits here! This chapter was enormous but I just couldn't stop! I have such a weakness for these two nerds being all awkward and shy around each other so I couldn't resist Deku going into mumble mode when he finally got around to asking out Ochako! Anyway, next chapter is all about Bakugo!


	5. A PR Nightmare

**UPROAR**

* * *

**Summary:** Just because you're a Pro doesn't mean you're immune to the shit life throws your way. But that's part of the fun, right? Right…? Ugh, All Might made it all look so easy. Aged-up. Rated T for now. Connected drabble series.

**A/N:** Who's ready to see what our beloved Bakugo has been up to since graduation? I know I am! This one takes place a few weeks before the present day, but it also jumps around to Bakugo's experience after the Hinata interview, before coming back again. That's the whiplash-inducing fun of a drabble series, I guess! ^^; Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 5: A PR Nightmare

* * *

A Few Weeks Ago

* * *

Bakugo dropped his gym bag onto the floor and kicked off his sneakers. He collapsed facedown onto his sofa and felt around the cushions for the TV remote. Face still buried, he half-listened to the news when it came on, while the other half wondered what he should make for dinner. He had some leftover _gyuudon_ that he could reheat with a soft-boiled egg or whatever greens he had in the fridge. Then if anything remained, he could always make some quick _onigiri_ out of the rice to keep for lunch tomorrow. That sounded like a solid plan…

But first he needed to throw his clothes in the wash and hop in the shower. Laying there like a bump on a log for a few minutes more, he finally forced himself back to his feet after realizing he couldn't stand listening to reporters recap last night's _Helping Hands_ episode. It had been two years and three PR agents later, and Bakugo was finally back on track from his own disastrous interview with that pushy Hinata Teodasu.

As soon as the interview wrapped, his former Pro, Mirko, had called him to congratulate him on ruining his career before it even began. She informed him that she had taken the liberty of sending his contact information to their former agency's PR executive, so Bakugo would have to report to the office the very next day after the interview. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. So, he had to skip out on dinner with his old classmates that night in order to catch up on some much-needed sleep.

However, the very next morning, he'd received a call saying that the PR guy wanted nothing to do with Bakugo's plight, Mirko's former sidekick or not. Not only had Bakugo completely botched that interview, but the first results that appeared when searching his name was the disaster at the warm-water port he'd inadvertently destroyed five years ago. The man had wished him well and forwarded his case to a friend of his in the hopes that he would have the stomach for the job instead, because he certainly did not. But, of course, Bakugo had no such luck with that next guy, either.

Sick of her protégé's reputation dragging her through the mud as well, Mirko all but scruffed him by the collar and forced him into the office of her own PR manager. Forcing his forehead to the floor alongside hers, they both wound up winning the woman over enough to take his case.

And for the next year, Bakugo had been forced to live by Noriko-san's rules whether he liked it or not. He couldn't recall ever being under someone's thumb so tightly before, including his own mother and Mirko for that matter. He'd been forced to relinquish all of his social media passwords, only allowed to keep one for his own personal use while the rest would be controlled by Noriko and her team. But even then, his personal profile had to be kept on private-mode, and only under his civilian identity, and every friend or follow request had to first be approved by Noriko herself before he could accept it. He barely even bothered with the damn thing anymore.

Another caveat under Noriko's tutelage was the official recognition of his updated Hero name: Ground Zero. His fans responded better to that over Kacchan, which was common enough to sound like a regular nickname, and it was easier for her to market a hero when his name packed a punch. In this way, Noriko's strategy wasn't so much a _rebranding_ of Bakugo's personality as it was an _acceptance_ of it. And it worked. Much like Mirko's ferocity had grown to precede her, Noriko would go on to make Bakugo's behavior something for his fellow rebels to rally behind.

Naturally, the first six months under Noriko's eye were the toughest simply because of the changes to his lifestyle. An immensely private person by nature, Bakugo had suddenly been forced to share everything about his life with all forms of media – from his workout regimen to his favorite clothing store, even down to the video games he liked to play on his day off. As time went on, it never really got any easier to accept, but he'd managed to tune it out as best he could. Lest it start driving him mad, otherwise.

Things had finally taken a sharp turn for the better once the infamous photoshoot that Noriko had tricked him into participating in was published. Searching his name on the internet now brought the masses to these photos instead of the ones of him that night at the warm-water port. He wasn't sure how she managed to achieve such a feat, but he'd come to learn it was easier to just roll with the punches. The less he questioned of her frightening genius, the better off he typically was. It was just easier to imagine her quirk was something akin to Shinso's Brainwash with all the strings she managed to conveniently pull. Even though he knew in reality that Noriko's quirk was actually something akin to the late hero Sir Nighteye's Foresight. After touching their body, Noriko was able to glimpse 7 seconds into their future together. It was most certainly the reason she was such a great negotiator and seemingly always got her way in the end, ethics of the practice be damned. All she had to do was shake your hand, and you were hers. So, the day Bakugo received a private message from his former mentor Mirko, he should have known something was up.

* * *

_ She'd invited him to a rooftop pool party at some swank hotel to rub elbows with her fellow Top Heroes in the hopes that it would help smooth out some of his rougher edges. And it was so obviously a trap that Bakugo couldn't resist going. Out of sheer curiosity, if nothing else. _

_ He'd pulled the clothes Noriko had approved for him to wear on his off-days (for their sponsors' sakes in case he'd happened to be photographed wearing them) from the back of his closet and put on the least obnoxious outfit. The walk to the hotel was uneventful, but he could feel a few teenagers staring at him on the subway, trying to be subtle about stealing snapshots of him with their phones. But he wasn't really in the mood to play along that day, so he'd simply ignored them by pretending to take a nap instead. However, in hindsight, they were probably more aware of Bakugo's fate than he was. He hardly ever checked his social media back when he was still in control of it, so he didn't see the point in doing so when it wasn't even his to use anymore. But had he done so, the day surely would have gone much differently in his favor. _

_ Upon arriving, the doorman of the hotel pulled the door open wide for Bakugo and the front desk receptionist excitedly met him halfway into the lobby. The girl eagerly offered him a glass of sparkling water with a lime wedge and escorted him to an elevator that went straight to the roof. He'd guzzled the drink down to the clinking ice cubes before even realizing it was actually a gin and tonic. That would have been the second red flag that day if he'd bothered to notice. But by the time the doors parted again and unleashed a bass-heavy chart topper upon them, he was all too eager to exit the lift and escape the chatty concierge. Bakugo forked over his empty glass and breezed out into the sunshine again, removing his sunglasses to shove his hands into his pockets with a scowl. He glared at each and every person that had frozen in fear at his arrival, since he'd made sure to get there 30 minutes early to catch them in the act, until he finally recognized the source of his fouling mood. Mirko sat at the bar with an unmistakable figure beside her, strong red wings betraying any anonymity he could ever hope to achieve. _

_ "Oi, Rabbit-Ears!" Bakugo barked as he stomped across the lounge, already feeling the rapidly imbibed gin swishing around his empty stomach. _

_ "Shit." With an irritated smile, Mirko had turned to greet him. "Sparky Boom Boom! You're early, kiddo!"_

_ "Just what the hell is going on here?" He demanded, completely ignoring the #2 Top Hero standing right next to them. "I knew this was some kind of trap before I got here, but a photoshoot? The hell kinda boy-band crap is this?" _

_ Mirko shrugged, eyeing her companion. "Sparky, I'd like you to meet my dear, dear friend and __your__ partner for the day – the #2 Winged Hero: Hawks!"_

_ "Yeah, yeah." He grumbled, sticking out his jaw petulantly as he eyeballed the other man. "I know who you are. You're shorter than I expected."_

_ "Funny." Hawks chuckled. "You're falling short of my expectations, as well."_

* * *

In the end, Bakugo was forced to participate in the photoshoot despite his many loud complaints throughout the day. Between Mirko's brute strength downright coercing him into poses and Noriko's ability to see his moves before he even made them, he didn't stand a chance. Afterwards, they were at least kind enough to feed him and buy him more drinks in an attempt to win him over again, before leaving him alone with Hawks at the bar. Stubborn as he was, Bakugo wasn't dumb enough to ignore the advice of a Top Hero, especially the only one who had made it there without help from U.A.

Hawks had explained he usually didn't waste his time lecturing snot-nose brats who don't want to hear it, but he had agreed to talk to Bakugo as a favor to both his friend Mirko and his protégé Tokoyami. Even his old classmate Todoroki had expressed some surprise in Bakugo's sudden rise in popularity. Outraged by the idea of his classmates looking down on him, Bakugo wound up blowing up his own beer glass. Unimpressed, Hawks was barely phased, seeing through Bakugo's scare tactics. In fact, he was more concerned about the designer clothes Bakugo had ruined than the shattered glass that he casually dusted away like they were merely crumbs.

Bakugo wound up learning a lot from his talk with Hawks, whether he wanted to admit it or not. The winged hero explained that popular approval said more about a hero than their official rank did, so their public image was their most important asset. It was also their greatest liability, as Bakugo and his shitty attitude both knew too well. Obviously, Hawks had watched the infamous _Helping Hands_ interview because his protégé had also been featured. But as much as it may betray his loyalties, he found Bakugo to be the most dynamic panelist on the show.

Of course, he was proud of Tokoyami's composure in front of the camera, and his answers were all worthy of a pro's status; but for some reason, he just hadn't been as interesting to watch as Bakugo had been. Hawks didn't remember who the third panelist was (much to Bakugo's hilarity) but once Bakugo opened his mouth, it didn't matter who else was there. At first, he thought that his obnoxious bravado stemmed from him overcompensating for being nervous on camera, but after meeting him in person, he'd understood that just wasn't the case.

Hawks admitted that he was beginning to see the same thing that Mirko and Noriko must have seen in him. Underneath that piss-poor attitude that was _clearly_ a defense-mechanism for whatever insecurities he was trying to cover up, lay the overwhelming tenacity that every great hero needed. But before he could go getting a big head about it, Hawks warned him not to take it as a compliment. Not many more people would be willing to wade through all his bullshit to see that side of him, so if he wanted to march with the big boys, he needed to shape up quick. Fans would come and go as fast as he could put out content to please them, so it was imperative to keep them happy.

And this was all in addition to his regular hero work, of course – y'know, fighting bad guys, keeping people safe – the usual. With All-Might out of the picture, they all had to work together now in order to maintain his former mantle. And if Bakugo didn't make it work, they would find someone else who could – _that_ was the ultimate truth about this business.

Bakugo had gone home in a stupor that night. Hawks had complimented him with insults and insulted him with compliments so many times that day that he didn't remember which way was up anymore. He'd navigated his way back to his apartment on autopilot and crashed without charging his phone.

* * *

And everything had changed that next morning. After finally plugging in his phone, it took a full four minutes for all of his notifications to run their course. In the mean time, he'd been able to brew a fresh cup of coffee and set up shop in the living room. Not only had the U.A. group chat been going off since the night before, but he had missed calls from both known and unknown numbers, his voicemail had been filled to capacity, and he had so many emails with disconcerting subject lines that he didn't want to even bother sorting through them all. He elected to check his messaging app first, since his friends tended to stick to the short and sweet of an event, even if they did tend to ramble off-topic halfway through a discussion. He sipped his steaming black coffee and scrolled through the nonsense he had thankfully missed yesterday, until coming upon the most recent ones from this morning.

_"Who else is watching the AM news rn?!"_ Mina Ashido tended to be the catalyst for many of their discussions. She would message them at any hour of the day or night with any thought that happened to cross her ditzy mind. Out of every one of the girls he went to school with, she probably had the busiest social media out there. Jirou had the most followers because of the quality of her posts, but Ashido had her beat in sheer quantity on a daily basis.

_"Why? What happened?"_ Sero had answered. Bakugo was surprised he was up before 9 A.M. on a Sunday.

_"It's Bakugo-kun!"_ Ashido exclaimed with heart-eyes emojis. _"He did a photoshoot with Hawks and some of the photos got leaked early! They just showed them on tv! I didn't know he knew Hawks!"_

_"Or that he modeled…"_ replied Mineta. _"But I guess you gotta get money where you can when your hero work isn't enough to pay the bills."_ His string of laughing emojis enraged Bakugo more than his actual comment.

_"You are ASKING for it, grape juice!"_ Ashido exclaimed. _"Idk if your tiny brain keeps forgetting or if you just don't care, but EVERYONE is in this group chat, dummy!"_

Several minutes passed before the next response and Bakugo rolled his eyes upon reading it. It was almost enough to sour the next sip from his mug.

_"Resorting to gravure?"_ Of course, Todoroki had to put his two-cents in. Bakugo could just imagine his stupid little smirk through the text and damned him to hot soba noodles for life.

_"Do you think he'll sign it for me if I buy the magazine?"_ His eyes widened when he learned that message was from Ochako Uraraka. It had been a while since he'd last seen her, but he remembered her occasionally being funny sometimes in the past.

_"I wonder if this is some kind of ploy to appeal to the ladies?"_ There was Kaminari, probably just getting up after the incessant notifications forced him to wake up. _"I can imagine the majority of his fanbase are angry teenage boys…"_ He followed up his words with several laughing emojis intent on mocking him.

By that point, Bakugo had elected to turn on the news to see the broadcast for himself. Sunday morning talk shows usually just regurgitated everything the actual news had already covered, just at a later time for those lazy-asses who slept in. He avoided a rerun of _Helping Hands_ and had to settle for a celebrity gossip show instead. After sitting through a few cycles of chatter about other celebrities and heroes, they finally got around to mentioning the shoot with Hawks.

Apparently, two of the photos had been leaked before the rest of the shots could make it to print in the actual magazine, and Bakugo smelled Noriko's hand in all of it. Honestly, out of the entire spread, why would someone sell only two photos to the press? Especially considering that Hawks wasn't even in one of them. It couldn't have possibly been anyone but her. His palms started sparking as he watched the gossip columnists conjecture all about him.

_"So, this guy here is Ground Zero, the explosive hero from S Agency in the city. He's the former sidekick of the #5 Hero Mirko and just went Pro on his own about a year ago." One woman explained, holding up the two photos from the shoot in question. "So, he's not a Top Hero, which is why it's so strange for him to be featured with Hawks."_

_ "But if you dig a little deeper into his past – and boy, does this kid have a past – things become a little clearer. This guy isn't just some random Hawks-fanboy like we all assumed." Another guy clarified, holding up the infamous Sports Festival photo. "We all know this is the Half-Cold Half-Hot Hero: Shouto, son of #1 Hero: Endeavor. But this guy over here is the Jet-Black Hero: Tsukuyomi, who just so happens to be Hawks' current sidekick."_

Bakugo's eyebrow twitched in irritation. He hated that bullshit medal ceremony.

_ "Ah…" The first woman nodded her head in understanding. "So that explains the connection. This kid sure has some famous friends. How nice U.A. must be!" _

_ "So, Hana-chan, I have to ask you now…" Her companion had a devious twinkle in his eyes. "Putting your journalistic integrity aside, as a __woman__ what do you think of these photos? Do these muscles tickle your fancy? Does that brooding glare pierce your heart?" _

"Christ…" Bakugo breathed.

_ Hana-chan blushed and held her hands to her flaming cheeks. "Don't be rude, Ueno-kun!"_

_ "What?" He laughed. "I can just read the comments that other women have left, if you're too shy."_

_ "Then do that instead!"_

_ He chuckled as he turned to face the prompt attached to the camera. "Herogirl007 says 'Between Hawks and Ground Zero, I will be staging my own kidnapping tonight…'."_

Bakugo rolled his eyes.

_"Rockerchick420 wants to know if she can be the creamy filling in their bicep sandwich."_

That one actually elicited a little chuckle out of him just on the basis of how cheesy it was.

_"ShadowLass666 says: 'My lil goth heart would melt if my bf ever looked at me like that'." Ueno seemed to find a twisted humor in that one._ _"And – oof, I don't know if I can actually read this one on air, everyone…" But his smirk said he would anyway. "Thirsty3 is wondering, to put it in terms we can say on TV, if Ground Zero's reputation as the explosion hero applies to the bedroom, as well."_

Bakugo choked on that sip of coffee, wondering if his cheeks were heating up from embarrassment for her or himself. He'd heard about some fans taking their admiration a bit too far – just look at all that fanboy crap Deku did – but he never thought it would have ever actually applied to him! He rushed into the kitchen to grab paper towels and clean himself up as the guy on TV continued to read the comments.

And ever since that time, his life had never been the same. Following Hawks' suggestion to focus on his fans, Bakugo had been able to soar through the ranks within the span of a year to break into the top 30 of the Official Hero Ranks. And just like he'd been warned, the closer to the top he went, the less freedoms he actually had. But as #28, Bakugo seemed to have found a comfortable middle ground between fame and anonymity. Around his neighborhood, he was well-known and often recognized by local fans. But the farther away he traveled, the more he regained his beloved privacy. It had come to the point where he was forced to wear a baseball cap, sunglasses, and a face mask to go grocery shopping. So instead, he took a 20-minute train ride to the next two towns over to do his shopping on Wednesday nights, when things were less busy.

* * *

His stomach growled again and he decided to forgo his shower until after dinner. Hell, maybe he'd take a long soak in the tub after all. He was off tomorrow so he didn't actually need to be in bed early tonight, it was just that he was so tired that he actually wanted to be. But first, dinner. He was running low on _shichimi_, so he wrote it on his grocery list for this coming Wednesday. But as he was replacing the pen, his phone began to ring.

He fished it out of his back pocket, scowling at the caller ID before placing it to his ear.

"What?"

_ "Where the hell is my photo, Bakugo-kun?"_

"I forgot." He sighed at Noriko's demanding tone. "I just got home, gimme a sec to walk through the door, would ya?"

_"There's already photos of you at the gym taken by random fans, so the rest of them are waiting for an official one."_ She lectured, like he didn't hear the same story each time he was late in sending over an update. _"It's too late to post one of you 'at' the gym, so send me one of your after-workout protein shake instead." _

He rolled his eyes. "Do I have to be in it?"

_"Yes, you have to be in it."_ She didn't bother to sugarcoat anything. _"And make sure the whole label is visible this time. Last time, you left out a letter and I had to take some moron out to dinner to keep their sponsorship."_

Bakugo genuinely had no response to something so stupid, but better Noriko than him! He fished the container of powder from his cabinet and set the matching tumbler out on his countertop.

_"And use the selfie-stick I got you so we can tag them also!"_ Noriko added as a sudden afterthought.

He paused in shoveling the powder into the tumbler and squeezed the bridge of his nose. "Anything else, dear?"

She chuckled. In spite of his hairpin-trigger temper, Bakugo had a surprisingly quick wit. _"Just be glad I'm not forcing you to drink this stuff again."_

She had a point. The product tasted terrible and he'd done so poorly in masking his repulsion in one of the videos he'd shot that Noriko insisted on a photo-only policy from then on. He was too honest for his own good.

_"And send it in the next ten minutes – we're trying to get out of here on time tonight."_

"Alright." He hung up and turned on the faucet to fill up the tumbler. It came with a built-in mixer and he wasn't embarrassed to admit that his favorite part of the whole process was shaking the ever-loving hell out of it. The drink looked disgusting, but nobody would be able to tell he'd just mixed it with water instead of actually making a real smoothie. If he wasn't going to be drinking it, he'd be damned if he wasted a single drop of milk on it, after all.

In truth he'd lost the selfie stick Noriko had given him one night when he and Kirishima had had a bit too much to drink. The red-headed moron had climbed over the railing of the Rainbow Bridge walkway in order to impress some girls with a shot of the Tokyo skyline…and dropped both his phone and Bakugo's selfie stick directly into the Bay. Since then, Bakugo either put his phone on a timer or used his smartwatch (a gift from yet another sponsor) to take the photo, and even Noriko couldn't tell the difference. Either that or she just couldn't be bothered to care.

Bakugo tugged off his black tank top and slipped his gray sweatpants down a bit, so they hung temptingly low on his hips. As much as he couldn't stand feeding into the fangirl – and fanboy, he didn't discriminate – mentality, he was fully aware that they were one of his biggest tickets to the #1 spot. And if this was just one more thing he had to do outside of busting up the bad guys, he'd do it as thoroughly as he could.

Once the photo had been snapped, he sent it to Noriko and dumped the tumbler down the sink. Finally alone for the night, he happily headed over to the fridge to fetch his leftovers. His stomach was so empty it practically felt concave, so he decided to forgo remaking the food into anything else and just eat it as was. He spooned the meat and rice into a single bowl and tossed it into the microwave to reheat.

His phone rang a second time while he waited, and he answered it with a snarl.

"I'm not taking off my damn pants!" He barked, certain he'd managed to catch the label on the waistband of his designer underwear.

There was a long moment of silence on the other line in which his stomach dropped down to the soles of his feet.

_ "Ah! U-um…Ka-Kacchan?"_

Fuck.

"Deku…?" He peeled the phone from his heated face and despaired at the caller ID. "What the hell do you want, you goddamn nerd?!"

_"Sorry!"_ He squeaked. _"If this is a bad time, I can call back."_

The microwave beeped and he glared at his hot meal. "No. Just spit it out already." He commanded.

_"Alright, well…"_ Deku sounded hesitant. _"I need your help with something."_

He cocked a blonde brow curiously, but remained silent.

_"Well, the thing is…"_ Deku paused. _"I've been invited back to I-Island for the Expo and I…can't decide if I should go or not." _

Bakugo frowned. "Are you an idiot or what?!"

* * *

**A/N:** Ahhhh! Sorry! It was just getting too long for my liking and I had to stop it there! I could have probably broken this thing up into two chapters, but I just think it flows better as one…even though it jumps around the timeline a bit. I hope it wasn't too confusing to follow! I think this one is the longest one of the series so far but Bakugo's my fave and once I get going, I just can't stop! But don't worry I'll be sure to get the next chapter out lickity split for you all! I promise! Also, I was watching TMZ one day, I can't remember for what story, but the format of what they do on that show is basically what I based the show that Bakugo winds up catching. It's supposed to be pretty cringe, so I just tried to come up with the most ridiculous thirst-tweets that I could imagine! Hopefully it worked! See you next update!


	6. A Pre-Flight Fight

**UPROAR**

**Summary:** Just because you're a Pro doesn't mean you're immune to the shit life throws your way. But that's part of the fun, right? Right…? Ugh, All Might made it all look so easy. Aged-up. Rated T for now. Connected drabble series.

* * *

**A/N:** WOO! Long weekend = another update! And we finally reached present day plot-wise! Double WOO! So, If I did my math right (which would be a miracle, let's be honest here) then everybody should be around the ages of 22 or 23 because it's been 5 years altogether since graduation-ish times. I think the oldest anyone would be, give or take some months unaccounted for, would probably be like…24ish? Maybe 25 max? Their exact ages aren't extremely pivotal to the plot but I'm just a stickler for these kinds of details so I figure I could grant you the same courtesy lol. Anywho, enjoy already! P.S. there's a little smut in this chapter, but nothing too intense.

* * *

Chapter 6: A Pre-Flight Fight

* * *

Present Day

* * *

Deku sighed at the fawn-tinted head of hair poking out from over the top of the couch. It had been the longest she'd gone without talking to him since…well, since they'd known each other. And it had only been four days, but it had been the longest four days of his life. Yes, he probably shouldn't have waited so long to tell her, but it was only because he'd never been completely 100 percent certain until then himself! If he had lied and said that he'd only been invited to I-Island on such short notice, maybe she wouldn't be so mad. But then again, Deku wasn't much of anything if he wasn't too honest for his own good.

He deposited the last of his luggage into the _genkan_ and closed the door to return to his apartment. He stood by the door looking into the living room where that brunette still sat like a statue, brown eyes glued to the TV that he knew she wasn't actually paying any attention to. She was trying to send him a message that even a blind person could see from space.

"I'm leaving now." He announced, slightly too afraid to approach any closer than this.

Ochako startled. "F-fine." She bit back, annoyed with herself for jumping at the sudden sound of his voice. She was no good at confrontation, but she couldn't figure out another way to show Deku how upset she was with him. Typically carefree and laidback, she was terrified that her concern for him would devolve into a screaming match that would end with him storming out the door. Not that any of their past fights had ever even come close to such an outcome, but that still did nothing to dissuade her irrational fear of it somehow happening.

Even the cat who had begun to hang around lately managed to perk up at Deku's forthcoming departure. He was a fluffy calico with a rhinestone-encrusted purple collar announcing his name was Aki, like the season. Deku still wasn't sure who he belonged to, but apparently Ochako was quite fond of him if he kept mysteriously finding his way back inside. Especially considering that they were on the top floor of the building. He just kept reminding Ochako that Aki obviously belonged to someone else, to which she would typically spin the story to make it seem like it was _him_ leaving the balcony door open instead. When in reality, _she_ was constantly leaving the front door unlocked – but that was an argument for another day…!

In truth, he didn't mind the cat at all. He just didn't want to have to deal with the potential eventuality of missing cat posters lining their street and then coming home one night to Aki suddenly wearing a new collar and going by the name Haru.

"At least Aki will miss me." He teased, hoping it would get some kind of reaction out of her. It wasn't like they'd been living together for the past year and a half because they couldn't wait for the other to leave, after all. "Won't you, little buddy?"

The cat chirped and leapt down from where he was lounging in the sink. His little pink paws pitter-pattered across the hardwood in the excitement of potential pats and Deku crouched down to oblige.

"Make sure you visit Uraraka every day for me, okay?" He smiled, stroking him under the chin as he closed his olive orbs and purred. A knock at the front door startled them all and Deku stepped through the threshold of the _genkan_ to answer it.

With truly terrible timing, the man on the other side of the door was the deliveryman sent to collect Deku's luggage ahead of his flight. And funnily enough, he belonged to the Black Cat Company. After helping him load the bags on his small hand-cart, Deku paid him and returned inside with a newfound resoluteness. It was just the interruption he'd needed to finally clear him of his nerves.

He marched into the living room and stood in front of the TV, staring at Ochako with a stern look that wasn't quite yet a glare. The talk show rerun from last night could wait for all he cared, he wasn't leaving on a sour note with her.

"Is that really how you wanted to say goodbye?" He demanded, still struggling to decide if he was more annoyed or offended. "Because I can't leave without a proper goodbye."

Ochako couldn't help the way her round cheeks began to heat up, but she couldn't figure out the sensation behind it. Nerves? Anger? Frustration?

Deku all but collapsed onto the table in front of the sofa in his exasperation. "Y'know my mom even mentioned something was off about you last night at dinner. She said you were rude to her."

"I would never be rude to your mother!" She snapped, disgusted by the very idea.

Deku grinned. "Ah-hah! Got you talking!"

"That was low!" Ochako puffed out her cheeks and turned away from him, irritated with how easy she was to trick.

"What's going on with you?" He couldn't help the way his impatience was starting to affect his tone. But, dammit, he couldn't figure her out – he'd never seen her so frosty before in all the years he'd known her. He'd seen the cute way her jealousy would get her all flustered and petulant whenever another girl looked at him, but this wasn't that. He'd seen that fierce look in her eye when she was in those determined throes of battle, but this was thankfully not that either. This wasn't the kind of anger he was used to when it came to Ochako. It was subdued and sedate, rarely ever aspects he'd naturally associate with her.

"Are you mad that it was Melissa who called?" He ventured. "Because I already said she's only interested in helping me figure out the rest of my quirks."

There was the slightest of twitches in Ochako's eye at the mention of the young prodigy's name, but that was it.

Realizing how hard Deku was trying to understand her and how utterly oblivious he could be, Ochako relented. She heaved a sigh so hard her shoulders lifted and fell back down.

"I don't like the fact that you're going _alone_." She finally spoke, voice deceptively even-toned in spite of how worried she actually felt.

Deku seemed surprised. "It's only two weeks."

"And we were barely there a day last time and look what happened back then!" She insisted. "Imagine how much trouble you can get yourself into in _fourteen _days!"

He chuckled but wiped the smile off his face at the look she threw him for it. "I'll be careful. I promise."

"Trouble always finds you whether you're looking for it or not, Deku-kun." She sighed. "I'm worried you're going to get caught up in something again and I won't have any idea if you're in trouble."

"Alright, alright." He relented, reaching out to grasp her hand. "I promise to be _extra_ careful while I'm there. I won't stay out past dark, and how about I call you every night to prove it?" He stood, still holding her hand, and gave her a pleading look. "Deal?"

It took her a minute, but she finally stood up from her perch on the couch and nodded in agreement. The alarm on his phone went off, signaling that it was officially time to leave, and he was quick to silence it.

"So, I guess we should finally say our proper goodbyes…"

"It's not goodbye!" She scowled. "It's see you later."

"Right." He agreed, depositing the hand he held onto his shoulder in order to wrap his own arm around her waist. He pulled her in close. "Even though it'll be the longest two weeks of my life."

Even though she was still mad, Ochako couldn't help the way his breathy words made her swoon a bit. He cupped her face and bent down to kiss her, dipping her back onto the couch and eagerly following. From the kitchen counter, Aki stretched and mewled, blinking his unfazed gaze at the young lovers struggling to imprint the other onto their skin as much as they could in the short amount of time they knew they couldn't spare. Urgency sent Deku's scarred hands tugging at the straps of Ochako's tank top and desperation forced eager kisses to the supple breasts he'd exposed.

Suddenly, Ochako struggled to sit up, planting her fingers firmly onto his shoulders to push him away. She brushed her messy hair behind her ears and hastily fixed her shirt before the sight proved too much to resist.

"We don't have time!" She insisted. "As much as I'd love for you to miss your flight, I couldn't stand it if I was the reason why."

A second alarm rang out from Deku's pants pocket as though taking her side. He fished his phone out and silenced it with a resigned sigh.

"I guess you're right." He pocketed it again. "Why don't you come with me, then? I can buy your ticket! Just throw everything in a bag and we can figure it out when we get there!"

"I won't take your money, Deku-kun!" She shook her head negatively. "Besides, I can't afford to take two weeks off work at this point in my career – I'm still considered a newbie there."

Her words forced him to remember a night he didn't like remembering. Her parents had sworn Deku to secrecy after he'd unintentionally overheard a conversation that he clearly had no business overhearing. They had come to town last year to surprise Ochako for her birthday, not knowing that she had relinquished her old apartment in favor of moving in with Deku. After the initial awkwardness of getting that sorted, they had ended up spending the weekend in his apartment regardless. Naturally, they insisted on staying on the pull-out couch since they were the ones who surprised them with a visit and refused to put the pair out for it. So as usual, Deku had awoken in his chair after falling asleep in the library, only this time it was to their voices instead of Ochako sleepily beckoning him to bed. He was fully intending to announce himself as he walked out, but when he'd heard Ochako's name bounce between their lips, he couldn't help but pause.

It was no secret that Ochako had been sending significant chunks of her paychecks back home to help her parents settle their debts and reap some much needed R&R. But the truth of it was that after paying off their debts, her parents had been taking all the money she'd been sending and putting it into a savings account that they'd kept open since her birth. The reason they had been talking about it on Deku's pull-out couch that night was because they were debating if they should tell her about it or not. Learning of her moving in with a boyfriend made them worry about whether she would be able to continue supporting herself if she wasn't keeping her paychecks for herself. There was no way she could afford to live in a place as nice as this, even if the young couple was splitting the rent down the middle. At that point, Deku had no choice but to reveal himself and explain that they had divided up the rent relative to their respective earnings. Since Deku's salary was larger than Ochako's for the time being, "half" was subject to their own income. They didn't need to know the details about what the percentages actually worked out to in reality, but he had done enough to assuage their concerns over it. And since they hadn't revealed that secret savings account to her, he'd been forced to keep it secret from her all this time as well.

So there really was no point for Ochako to keep sending money her parent's way, which meant she probably _could_ afford to take two weeks off work with him. But he understood her too well to argue. If Ochako wasn't working, she wasn't happy. She would never accept a handout and she would never ask for one, anyway. She had always been that way and Deku doubted even winning the lottery would change that about her.

"I guess you're right." He said for the second time. "I'm sure these two weeks will fly by, anyway."

"I hope so." She assured him. "Just hurry back as soon as you can."

He nodded. "I will."

She watched him with her big brown eyes as he collected his carry-on and slung it over his shoulder. When he turned around a final time before opening the door to the _genkan_, she couldn't help herself. She leapt off the couch and cleared the living room in a second flat. His reflexes forced the carry-on to the floor as he caught her in his arms and fell back into the door, frantic lips planting frenzied kisses all over the other. She raked her fingernails throughout his hair, and he squeezed her just a bit too tightly around her waist, hooking his hand behind her knee to pull her in even closer. She moaned when the cold metal of his belt brushed against her inner thigh, clenching his hair between her fingers.

"Mrrowwlllll…!" Aki the calico suddenly appeared on the little table that held their keys and sent the ceramic dish crashing to the hardwood below.

The sweethearts parted like an electric shock had split them and blushed like they were teens stealing kisses all over again. Deku slowly retrieved his bag from the floor as Ochako sheepishly fixed her hair.

"Well, I guess I'll be off." He chuckled, still visibly flustered.

"Take care." She nodded her head. "I'll be waiting." She whirled on the cat as soon as the door was shut. "Seriously, Aki!? What the hell was that for?!"

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**A/N:** Okay so apparently, I've been using the term 'foyer' to mean that part of the house that I finally realized is called a _genkan_. Deku's place is so fancy that the genkan where shoes are usually kept is sectioned off by a door. I'm sorry if that was ever confusing when I called it a foyer, but I was actually trying to explain a genkan. And I couldn't come up with a better title for this chapter, but try saying Pre-Flight Fight three times fast, eh? It's not as hard as saying "Unique New York" or "Toy Boat" really fast, but I think I made my own tongue-twister here! Anyway, as for the next chapter, we'll be headed back to Bakugo's side of town so get ready for some A-C-T-I-O-N, y'all! …probably of the smut variety because I pulled the rug out from under the two that nearly happened in this chapter, which I fully intend to make up for later ;)


	7. Wya?

**UPROAR**

**Summary:** Just because you're a Pro doesn't mean you're immune to the shit life throws your way. But that's part of the fun, right? Right…? Ugh, All Might made it all look so easy. Aged-up. Rated T for now. Connected drabble series.

**A/N: **EDIT: I had to reupload this one and the next one because I forgot to underline the text messages -_- Wooooo! Two updates in one month! I love summer! Alright anyway, back to business. There's a rookie mistake in the last chapter that shames me as a lifelong cat owner. Aki, the stray that wanders in and out of Deku and Ochako's apartment…is male. Even though I've known calicos are like 99% female since I was a child, I still for some reason made him a male. So, if that also bothered you while reading, just know I also belatedly realized what a dumbass I am. So, for the sake of things running smoothly and not having re-edit a chapter I already posted, let's just say that Aki is that rare, male, calico cat XD Now that that's settled: Date nightttttttttt! Who's ready for some Kirishima?! I know I am! So much so that I had to break this chapter up when posting! Double whoops? Enjoy!

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Chapter 7: Wya?

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Three Days Later

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"Whatever, man, just hurry it up." Kirishima dismissed his oldest friend with a wave and plopped onto his couch like he owned the place. A slumbering orange cat startled and scurried off, and he watched it go with a curious look in his eye. "I'm starving."

Bakugo watched with an irritated twitch in his eye as the loud redhead plucked the remote off his coffee table and flipped through his TV channels, like he paid the cable bill. The cat appeared to commiserate.

"Are you just gonna sit there and get your sweat all over my couch, then?"

"Pretty much, yeah." Kirishima grinned. "I mean, it's not like it's explosive."

Bakugo ripped off his shirt with a little too much effort and tossed it onto the lid of his washer. He stood there waiting until he realized his hint had fallen on deaf ears.

"At least gimme your damn clothes to wash!"

Kirishima sighed before finally acquiescing and tossing his shirt at him. "You're worse than my mom, I swear." He plopped back down into the couch cushions as Bakugo slammed his washer shut and started a cycle. "You gonna make me take a bath, too?" He burst out laughing at the way Bakugo seemed to freeze in place, like he'd been caught red-handed.

Bakugo's eye merely twitched harder to the chorus of laughter. "Shut up! You're the one who wanted to go out! What kinda nasty ass doesn't shower after a work out!?"

"Alright, alright." Kirishima relented between chortles. "If it'll make you feel better, I'll take a shower before we go."

Bakugo seemed to huff in agreement; though given his particular temper, it was always hard to discriminate between his huffs. But he seemed to be satisfied with this outcome and made his way back down the hall.

Kirishima had to get one last word in before he made it his bedroom, though. Sometimes, half the fun of hanging out with Bakugo was riling him up. He was too damn serious otherwise.

"I mean, I guess it's only fair considering I'll have to borrow your clothes, anyway…"

"You're worse than the damn cat!" He shouted back, slamming his bedroom door shut.

Kirishima grinned with satisfaction, though it disappeared pretty rapidly again in this newfound silence. He heard the water going and figured he only had a few minutes with which to score them each a date through the app on his phone. He swiped aimlessly for less than a minute before finding a particularly cute girl named Akane that matched with him. The orange cat suddenly appeared next to him when he started messaging her, and stared up at him with her wide olive orbs. She pressed her cold pink nose against his arm and gave it a lick, probably tasting the sweat on his skin.

"Hey, pretty kitty." Kirishima gave a few scratches between her ears while he waited for his potential date to answer his greeting. "What's your name?" He stole a peek at her purple rhinestone collar. "Mikan? Like the fruit?" He couldn't help but laugh. "Your owners are just as bad at names as half the heroes I know."

Akane answered pretty quickly and seemed equally as enthusiastic as Kirishima was about a potential double date. Kirishima had lucked out since she was already out with a girlfriend of hers, and she swiftly sent a selfie to him of the both of them. The other girl's name was Yuri, like the flower, and her beauty definitely lived up to the name. Even if he hadn't cracked the code of his best friend's "type" yet, Kirishima was positive a looker like her was the definition of everyone's "type."

"Oi!"

He startled, flinging the cat away for the second time that night, and turned to Bakugo with what he hoped wasn't a nervous look on his face.

"Shower's free."

"Ah, okay." He pocketed his phone now that the date had been set and made his way to the shower. He disrobed and quickly lathered up. He'd think up a game plan under the spray of hot water, where he typically tended to do his best thinking, anyway. The bar the girls were at was outside of their usual haunts, but he could probably sway him into going if he made up something about reading about the place online. Some artisanal beer that they home brewed getting rave reviews, or something along those lines.

His attitude made Bakugo seem like a high-strung and suspicious person by default, but Kirishima had witnessed a change within him over the past few years. Since being on his own, the blustery blonde's bubbling boil had been tempered down to a mere simmer. That wasn't to say he still wasn't the easiest person to send over the edge; but to his credit, he'd definitely managed to cool off a bit.

Employed together at the same agency, he'd been able to witness Bakugo's transformation from an entitled brat who was resentful about being Mirko's sidekick to the humbled hothead Pro Hero he was now. As #36, Kirishima was lagging a bit behind Bakugo's #28 ranking, but he'd come a long way himself from the #39 spot he was at last year. The pair had teamed up to bust a local drug gang that had recently started dipping their toes in weapons distributions, and the success had sent them soaring through the ranks to the current spots they were today.

There was a banging on the bathroom door that brought Kirishima back to the task at hand.

"What?" He demanded, quickly rinsing and slapping off the tap.

"Your phone's been blowing up. Are you done?"

"Yeah, I'm coming out now." He answered, sliding open the shower door and unleashing a puff of steam into the bathroom. He flicked on the vent fan and wiped off the mirror to inspect his hair. He didn't bother to wash it since he knew it took the gel too long to set for Bakugo's liking, and he was too eager to meet up with Akane and Yuri, anyway. "Are you dressed?"

"Yeah, bedroom's all yours." He answered. "I'll be in the living room."

"Alright, thanks. I'll be quick." Emerging from the sweltering bathroom after the bedroom door signaled Bakugo's exit, Kirishima all but dove for his phone on the bed. Akane was spamming the app in order to let him know that they were changing to a different bar because the current one had become overrun with Uwabami fans, who was apparently making a surprise appearance.

How long are you going to be? LMK a spot that works for you guys and we'll try to get a table while we wait. She'd sent over her username in their regular messaging app for him to look up and Kirishima immediately pounced on the opportunity to bring them to a closer place. He collapsed onto the bed, relieved by his good luck tonight and explained to Akane how he would be tricking his buddy into meeting up with them tonight, so she'd have to make it seem serendipitous.

He's kinda grumpy but he's a good guy. He clarified. He doesn't know I'm planning this, but we've been working so hard lately I think he forgot how to do anything else.

I get it. Akane answered. Yuri can kind of be obnoxious when she's drunk, but she's been busting her ass on patrol lately that I'm treating her to some fun tonight also!

Perfect! We're such good friends, but we should make sure we don't forget to treat ourselves tonight…

Oh, don't you worry about that. She was quick to respond. I've been thinking of ways to reward you for your hard work also, so make sure you hurry up and get here before I run out of ideas…

Yes, ma'am!

Kirishima threw a fist in the air in excitement and launched himself off the bed. He tore through Bakugo's closet and zeroed-in on one of the outfits pre-approved by his PR agent since those were the nicest clothes he owned. If he could consider something like that as "his" to own in the first place. If the label ever pulled their sponsorship, he was sure the fancy clothes and expensive gifts would disappear with it, so did he actually "own" any of this nice stuff in reality?

As much as Kirishima sometimes felt a little envious of Bakugo's fame because of the extra perks that came along with it, he didn't actually covet it in the end. His own fame was more along the lines of a cult following, since he'd based his entire career off the old school hero Crimson Riot. Those in the know knew what was up and would find their own ways to support him, and those that didn't supported him as a regular hero, anyway. And both types of fans were equally fine by him.

He dressed quickly and gave his hair a final look before finally making his way back to the living room. Bakugo was scrolling through his phone on the couch while highlights from a baseball game played on the TV. Mikan was purring on his lap and stirred when Kirishima came closer.

"Uwabami's in town." Bakugo spoke. "She's doing a surprise appearance at some club a couple stops away. Noriko wants me to go rub elbows with her for some free publicity. You wanna check it out?"

"Huh?!" Kirishima couldn't help the panic that crept out of his throat. "No, that's fine! …I was thinkin' more about this other spot with this craft beer I wanna try."

"You sure? I thought you said Uwabami was hot – Noriko can probably get us straight to her." He turned and gave his friend a cursory once-over. "You're wearing that shirt wrong."

"Huh?" He croaked out a second time, nervously eyeballing his torso like a creature was clinging to it. "What do you mean?"

"It's _supposed_ to look like it's inside out." Bakugo rolled his eyes at his own words. "Apparently that's a thing now."

"Oh." Kirishima chuckled and slipped off the shirt to flip it inside-out, which was apparently the "right" way to wear it. "I guess that explains why the design was on the wrong side."

"Idiot." Bakugo chuckled and lifted the cat off his lap to dust her fur from his pants. "Ya done primping now?"

"Mrrowwllll…!" Mikan let out a loud yet unenthused yowl, interrupting Kirishima's assuredly witty retort.

Both boys turned to give the orange creature a bewildered glance as she repeatedly nudged her face against Bakugo's leg.

"What's with your girlfriend?"

"Shut it." The blonde snapped, bending down to pluck the cat off the ground and toss her back onto the couch. "I thought she was just a stray but she's always here."

"She's got a collar." He indicated the purple strap decked out with sparkly rhinestones.

"Yeah, with no address." He fired back. "I even went to the _koban_ the other day to tell them about her but all they did was put up a stupid flyer."

"Not much else they can do until someone says they lost their cat, I guess." Kirishima watched Mikan stretch up to her tiptoes to press herself up to Bakugo's chest, staring until he finally pet her again. "I never thought _you'd_ have a stalker, though."

Bakugo rolled his eyes. "She just likes me because I'm warm."

Kirishima cocked a brow, not even needing words to get across his need for clarification.

"I run hot because of my quirk."

"Sure it's not because of your temper?"

"Ya wanna find out, shitty hair?"

Kirishima smirked as his phone buzzed. He went rigid and retrieved it, suddenly remembering the whole reason he was here.

Where are youuuuuu? He could practically hear the whine in her voice even though they'd never actually met. Yuri's dancing with other guys alreadyyyyyy.

"We gotta go." Kirishima declared, rapidly texting her back and pleading for just a few more minutes.

"What's the hurry?" Bakugo eyed Kirishima's phone with an accusing glance, already knowing what was going on by the guilty look in his friend's eye.

"Alright, fine. I messaged this girl and now she and her friend are waiting for us." Kirishima sighed, already backtracking down the hallway to the door. "I'll explain on the way, but let's just get going already, please! Before they ditch us for some other guys!"

"Oh, Christ…" Bakugo rolled his eyes but mercifully went along without any further protest.

Mikan followed the odd couple into the _genkan_, where they slipped on their shoes and vanished behind the door without another word. Her hypersensitive eyes watched the lingering trail of pheromones she'd left on Bakugo sparkle in the air, wondering if she'd left a heavy enough mark to properly claim him as hers.

* * *

**A/N:** Happy kitty, pretty kitty, little ball of fur. Warm kitty, soft kitty, purr purr purr… As for those who may not be familiar with the official name of those police boxes you may have seen in some manga/anime/movie, they're called _koban_. I mean, I didn't realize the foyer where shoes are kept was actually called a _genkan_ until recently, so the more you know, right? And yes, they accept lost and found items, so I figured hey why not a lost cat XD As for the title, it's a wink at that text you get when you're running late and I felt it would be cute to reference that since Kirishima is basically using Tinder here. And if I didn't mention it earlier, the messaging app everybody uses here is in fact, Line. I just don't know ffnet's rules on real life brands in fics and wanted to cover my ass by not using names because that would be a dumb way to get deleted. Anyway, things are going to get VERY heated next chapter, like heavy smut wise. Fair warning since it's the direct continuation of this one, and drinking buddies are gonna do what drinking buddies do…


	8. Dying In A Hot Tub

**UPROAR**

**Summary:** Just because you're a Pro doesn't mean you're immune to the shit life throws your way. But that's part of the fun, right? Right…? Ugh, All Might made it all look so easy. Aged-up. Rated T for now. Connected drabble series.

**A/N:** Date night, continueddddd! And just as a warning, there's some hot and heavy adult scenes between the ###, so if that's not your thing just skip it and only read before and after them, not in-between. I sectioned them off on purpose to make it easier to skip if you don't want to read them. Now go enjoy some more Kirishima!

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Chapter 8: Dying In A Hot Tub

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"Oh, my god! I knew you were Red Riot when you messaged me, but I had no idea you were bringing Ground Zero with you!"

Kirishima would be lying if he said it still didn't sting whenever this happened. Because of his hair, he was the more recognizable one; but because of his reputation, Bakugo was the one people went moon-eyed for. Particularly, girls. And it always drove him nuts that the blond refused to take full advantage of his fame in that regard. If he wanted, he probably could have gotten them bottle-service and a private booth for the night, like Uwabami undoubtedly was doing just across town this very moment. But no, Bakugo believed that to be too ostentatious. As much as that money-hungry PR agent of his would love for him to take a deal with a drink label, that just wasn't his style.

And as much as it annoyed him to see him reject so many nice things (mostly because he himself would be all too eager to accept those nice things in his place), Kirishima also admired him for it. It was one thing for all these Pro Heroes to _say_ they weren't in it for the fame and fortune, but it was a completely other thing to actually follow through with that claim. And Bakugo more than put his money where his mouth was in that regard. Sure, he was forced to whore himself out a bit on social media at the behest of his sponsors – but who didn't nowadays? Even Kirishima was contractually obliged to sell his soul whenever his sponsors waved their fingers and made some money magically appear before him. The only difference between them was that Kirishima was a big enough ham to enjoy when the publicity stunts came knocking. Bakugo on the other hand, may have finally found something he didn't excel at.

"Oh, would you chill, Akane-chan?" Yuri admonished her, patting the spot next to her for one of them to sit down. "You're so embarrassing."

"Sorry." Akane laughed at herself, sheepishly brushing her short dark hair behind her ear. "I'm just a big fan."

"Thanks." Bakugo nodded his acknowledgment and sat down next to Yuri, leaving the spot by Akane open for Kirishima.

"So, next round is obviously on you guys." Yuri declared, placing her hand on Bakugo's leg and giving it a playful squeeze.

He cocked a blonde brow at her.

"Since you kept us waiting so long, it's only fair, right?"

He couldn't help but smirk at her boldness and shrugged in agreement. "What are we drinkin'?"

"Anything you want." She purred, struggling to keep his gaze as she erupted into a fit of laughter a moment later. "I'm sorry, we've been waiting so long…you may have to play catch up!"

"I told you to hurry up." Akane pouted at Kirishima.

"It's fine, it happens." He dismissed, trying to flag down a server to take their drink orders. One finally caught his eye and moseyed over, pen and pad at the ready.

"What can I get you guys?"

"Four –"

"A beer and a shot." Yuri interrupted, holding up her hand. "Four."

The waitress cocked a brow and looked at the other three for clarification. "So…four _boilermakers_?"

Akane nodded, resting her head in her hands in embarrassment. "Yes, please."

"The heck's a boilermaker?"

"Whatever's on tap with a shot of whiskey." Bakugo sighed, not too thrilled at the idea of getting sloppy tonight. He'd just give his shot to Kirishima, though. He was more resilient to liquor than he was, anyway.

"So, Akane mentioned you go out on patrol a lot." Kirishima turned to the fair-haired Yuri. Her waves were long and slightly disheveled from dancing, and even more platinum than Bakugo's own mop. "Are you also a Pro?"

She nodded. "I am. You may know me as 'Snap-Back' though." She gathered a handful of almost-white hair in each hand and spun the bundles around into a pair of quick buns atop her head to make her more recognizable.

Bakugo had no clue who she was with her hair up or down, but the excited grin in Kirishima's wide eyes said the opposite was true for him.

"I've seen you before!" He exclaimed. "Your quirk can make some kind of shockwave, right?"

She grinned. "My body can amplify the sounds my joints make – but it works best with my knuckles since there's so many bones there." She wriggled her fingers at them and eyed Bakugo's hands resting in his lap.

He noticed her looking and quickly balled his hands into fists and folded his arms across his chest. Not quite in the mood to show off, he nodded at Akane to quickly take the attention off of himself.

"What's your quirk?" He asked. "Are you a Pro, too?"

Akane gave a small smile. "No. My quirk isn't as impressive as all of yours."

"I'm sure that's not true." Kirishima assured her with a kind smile. "Mine isn't flashy at all but it's still pretty handy."

"Mine isn't like yours. It's not helpful at all."

"Akane's quirk is still really cool even if it is kinda dangerous!" Yuri insisted. "Show them – let them guess what it is!"

Kirishima sent a look to Bakugo that signaled only a momentary hesitation before Akane nodded her head.

She placed her hands above the small candle in the middle of their table and breathed in a slow breath. Everyone else watched as the flame danced around like normal and Akane released her breath before returning her hands to her lap, trick apparently performed.

"You can control fire?" Kirishima exclaimed. "That's like the coolest quirk you can possibly have!"

She shook her head negatively. "Ah, sorry. That's not quite it."

Bakugo could feel Yuri's smirking gaze on him and turned to the approaching waitress. She put down her tray and doled out their beer glasses and shots before leaving again with a friendly smile. He reached for his drink, but Yuri stopped him.

"You have to guess in order to drink." She teased.

"It's like that?" He smirked. "Alright. Akane's quirk has something to do with heat-resistance. That's why she wasn't burned when holding her hands over the flame for so long."

"Oh…" Kirishima nodded in understanding. "Are you kidding me? You'd be perfect for fire rescues!"

Akane shook her head, eyes on her drink this time. "I'm impervious to heat, but only in the palms of my hands and soles of my feet. It's really only handy when I'm cooking, though. Or at the beach. Just mundane stuff, really." She lamented with a shrug. "So, I'm just a regular OL at G Sales up the road."

"Oh, I know that building." Bakugo said. "I pass it every day on the way to work. I like the glass archway you guys have."

Akane smiled. "It's so frightening to cross!" She held her palms to her cheeks just recalling it. "I'm terrified of heights, so I hate when I have to go to the Quality Department because then I have to cross that bridge!" She couldn't help but laugh at herself. "I would rather take the elevator all the way down and cross the street than cross the glass bridge between our buildings!"

"I know what you mean." Kirishima agreed. "I hate heights, too. But that's because my quirk doesn't allow me to fly, like this guy over here."

Bakugo shrugged and flicked his shot of whiskey across the table. "A few more of these and you'll be flyin' soon enough."

"That's the spirit!" Yuri exclaimed, lifting her glass in the air. "Kampai!" She plunged her shot into the glass and chugged it down.

"Kampai!" The other three cheers'd with each other and took hearty swigs.

* * *

###

"Take off your pants."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Sit there and be quiet."

"Mmm. Ah, fuck!"

Bakugo's eyes snapped open and he peered around to orient himself. He was looking under the table and his crimson gaze settled on Yuri's mouth in Kirishima's lap while the redhead squirmed from her touch. He startled and banged his head on the table, sitting ramrod straight fast enough to frighten Akane. He rubbed his head and surmised that he'd passed out in their booth in the club, somehow winding up in Akane's lap.

###

"How long was I out?" The blond did everything he could to avert his gaze from the other pair.

Akane checked her watch. "Not long. Barely twenty minutes."

He didn't know what to make of that. "You alright?"

She chuckled. "Are _you_ really asking me that?"

He shared her humor. "Force of habit. Is _this_ a normal occurrence? You're awfully calm right now."

She shrugged and offered him her water, which he eagerly gulped down. "After six years of her antics, you start to get used to it. But I'm glad she found someone nice enough to humor her demands, though."

He resisted the urge to laugh. If anyone was used to dealing with unreasonable demands, it was certainly Kirishima. It was more like his quirk was turning to rubber with the way insults and abuse just bounced right off him.

"You wanna get outta here?" He asked her, offering his hand as he stood.

She hesitated. "Your friend's a good guy, right?"

"Trust me, I'm the bad guy for leaving him with _your_ friend."

She took his hand and followed him out of the booth and into the chilly night air. Other people at various levels of inebriation were also outside, taking care of their respective business. Some called cabs and rideshare services, others negotiated whose house to go to, and a few were even bickering about the trains being closed.

"How close is your place?" She squeezed his hand.

"Twenty minutes if we're walkin'."

"I'm closer, then." She nodded her head in the opposite direction. "This way."

They walked in relative silence for the next 10 or so minutes until they arrived at her mansion-style apartment. It was a high-rise but there was an elevator, which they rode up to the top floor. She fished her keys out of her purse and opened her door with a trembling hand that didn't go unnoticed by Bakugo's attentive gaze, buzzed or not.

In the cramped space of her _genkan_, he felt like an absolute giant towering over her as he slipped off his shoes. Her heels were strappy and thusly required her to bend down to undo the clasps, in which time Bakugo checked his phone. He had the usual messages from Noriko about work, and the typical weekend extravaganzas in his U.A. group chat, but nothing new from Kirishima. He supposed that meant that he was otherwise preoccupied, or tied to a chair with his phone out of reach. Judging by the first impression of that Yuri girl, either possibility seemed feasible enough.

Not sure if you saw me leave, but I'm at Akane's place. He wrote. Ask the doorman for my spare if you wanna crash at my place later. He'll get it from the security guy for you.

"Everything okay?" Akane questioned, eyeing him from the hallway.

He must have still been pretty foggy if she'd managed to sneak away from him so easily. "Yeah, just checking my messages."

"Well, follow me." She beckoned. "I have more beer in my fridge. Or I can make some coffee if you'd prefer."

"Beer's fine."

He followed her into her apartment, which was the typical one-room style of a single person that reminded him of his own first apartment. From before all that sponsorship money came through and financed the large 2LDK he had now, of course. Technically, he didn't really need that second bedroom, but he'd managed to turn it into a weight room…where Noriko had floor-to-ceiling mirrors installed in order to take better selfies.

"Here you are." She handed him a frosty beer from the fridge and their hands brushed. Their eyes met and she pounced in a flash, beer clattering to the floor and rolling under the bed. She pinned him beneath her and captured his mouth with hers, scraping her fingernails against his scalp until he had to peel her off of him to breathe.

"What the hell is _that?_" He demanded, wandering eyes zeroing-in on a monstrous poster directly across from her bed. Presumably, it was placed there so she could look at it whenever she lay down.

"Oh, that." She sat up, still straddling him with her hands on his chest. "I told you I was a big fan."

The poster in question was a blown-up version of the print work he'd done with Hawks a few years ago. In it, Bakugo was in a swimsuit that left very little to the imagination, leaning back in a pool chair with his legs on either side of the ground. They'd wet his hair with pool water so it was slicked back on the sides, forcing him to hold up his hands in a welcoming gesture to seem more inviting. They must have photoshopped that smirk on his face, because he had vivid memories of _not_ smiling once that entire day.

"Your eyes are so intense." She gushed.

Because he was pissed off when they got the shot.

"I bought it the second I saw it." She admitted. "Is that weird?"

He shrugged. "It's definitely weird for me to look at."

"I can take it down!" She eagerly offered, but he secured his hands around her legs before she could scurry off.

"Don't worry about it." He shook it off, lifting his chin as invitation.

###

She leaned over him and gently bit his bottom lip, trailing delicate kisses on his chin, down his throat, and across his collarbone. She sucked the tender skin there as her fingers hooked his shirt and lifted it up. She sat back again to marvel at his torso.

"Hell yesssss." She hissed, running her fingers across the hard flesh. "Nothing beats a Pro's body."

It was an odd comment, but the drinks were still clouding his mind enough not to care. He unfastened his belt to keep her from talking any further and she took the hint, fishing him out of his underwear just enough to take him into her ready mouth.

"Ah…" He breathed a sigh so heavy, it was like all the weeks of tension in his body left him all at once. His fingers tangled in her hair, guiding her to what he liked best. Her tongue was so warm and soft that she took him right up to the edge without ever pushing him over. "Alright." He declared. Any more of that, and he wouldn't be able to stop.

"Rip them." She brandished her tights to him and he hungrily obliged, digging his fingers into the thin fabric and tearing it apart.

She smirked and impatiently hiked her skirt up to her waist, revealing the bold choice to forego any underwear. Momentarily stunned by the sight of her, he quickly came to his senses the instant she started to lower herself onto him.

"W-w-wait!" He exclaimed, objections dying in his throat at the sensation of her pelvis suddenly grinding against his hips. Her heat engulfed him and sent his hands clutching for her thighs.

"It's fine." She assured him, pressing her palms onto his chest for leverage. "Just tell me when you're close."

He watched from the floor as she rocked herself against him, sucking in her lips and biting down in ecstasy. His blond brow wrinkled in frustration and he gripped her hips to slow her down before she gave him a rugburn.

"Oh, Ground Zero." She whined loudly.

His heart that was previously beating like a drum had seemingly frozen in place. Did she even know his real name?

"I wish you had your costume on."

He stared at the poster on her wall as she moaned Ground Zero's name again and wondered how many times she'd done that very same thing when she was in bed alone. That fake smirk they'd slapped on his face seemed to mock him, reminding him that it wasn't actually Bakugo Katsuki getting this girl off. It was Ground Zero. Or, at least the idea of Ground Zero that she'd created in her own mind.

"Hey." She huffed, turning his face back to her. "You okay?"

He nodded, unable to speak because he knew he wouldn't be able to lie. Let her have her fantasy. It wasn't hurting anyone in the end. Just another way to please a fan, Noriko would be so proud of him.

"Okay, 'cuz I'm almost there." She egged him on, pink in the cheeks and breathing heavy. "You?"

"Mhmm." He lied, closing his eyes. He needed to focus if he was going to last long enough to make her come. Once she did, he could fake his own climax and be out of this place the next minute.

"Ah! Oh, god! I-I'm –" She let out a throaty moan and collapsed around him, covering his neck, chin, and mouth in sloppy kisses. Panting, she peered down at him with an expectant look. "Did you…?"

He cleared his throat and sat up, trying to separate their joining as quickly yet gracefully as possible. She fell back onto the floor and stared up at him in outrage.

###

"Wasn't I good?"

He eyed the poster of himself as he buckled his belt, feeling his back pocket to make sure his phone and wallet hadn't fallen out.

"It's not your fault." He assured her, though he did nothing to adopt a convincing tone. "I just drank too much."

She laughed, though it held no real mirth. "Yeah,sure. Like I haven't heard that one before…"

He couldn't be bothered to argue with her when he wouldn't even remember her name in the morning.

"Listen, my friend's waiting outside my place." He fibbed. "I gotta go." He didn't wait for her response before making a hasty exit, quickly grabbing his shoes and slipping out the door.

He leaned against the wall and breathed a heavy sigh of relief, peering out at the glittering skyline before him. Resting his arms against the railing, he let the brisk early-morning air cool his heated face. He didn't know an emotion beyond mortification, but he was certainly feeling it right now. It wasn't something he was accustomed to dealing with, and that just seemed to feed the dark sensation even more.

He fished his phone from his pocket and scrolled through all the blurry photos that his friends – Kirishima included – had posted to the group chat and elsewhere.

"Fuckin' idiot…" He grumbled, recognizing Yuri's light hair in one of the photos. At least someone's night had been successful.

"Ba…Bakugo-kun?"

He turned with hunched shoulders and a black aura radiating off them. "_What!?_" He snarled at the very last person he'd expect.

"I knew it was you!"

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry for the cliffhanger ending, but this thing was nearing 7 pages long and I couldn't do that to you guys! But rest assured, the next chapter will be out super soon! Also some side notes: OL is a term that means office lady, who usually do more clerical work than anything else. And this chapter's title comes from the song I kept in heavy rotation while writing it, particularly the last bit since it got a bit angsty. It's by Palaye Royale in case you wanted to know. Also, I've never actually had a boilermaker, but I imagine they have real potential to fuck you up XD


	9. Comeback Kid

**UPROAR**

**Summary:** Just because you're a Pro doesn't mean you're immune to the shit life throws your way. But that's part of the fun, right? Right…? Ugh, All Might made it all look so easy. Aged-up. Rated T for now. Connected drabble series.

**A/N:** Whoops, so August kinda got away from me ^^;; But hey, there were two updates in July so by my calculations things still even out! Anywhooo, I won't bore you with excuses because they aren't even really that good, just your typical summer shenanigans, I guess. Oh god, that just reminded me that school is starting in a few days T^T …Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 9: Comeback Kid

* * *

In the four days that Deku had been overseas, Ochako had been forced to go on their morning jog all by her lonesome self. She was tempted to skip it altogether, since no one would ever know, but she was better than that. A few hours of extra sleep weren't worth the guilt she'd feel for lying to Deku. Not that he was keeping tabs on her or anything, but it was the principle of the thing. Besides, the closer she stuck to her regular routine, the faster time would fly, right?

She slammed her alarm clock silent like she was slapping an ex-lover in the face and buried her face in the sheets. Aki, who usually spent the night, was nowhere to be found, so Ochako sat up in a completely empty bed. She checked her phone after turning on the morning news – the only thing airing this early outside of infomercials – and yawned.

Apparently, she'd missed quite an exciting night. It was typical of her friends to post cool photos directly to their U.A. chat since some of them still operated under a secret identity. This way, they could still share their photos to a trustworthy group without the fear of exposing their identities.

There was the usual light and sound show from a concert Jirou attended, a cute selfie of Mina's newest outfit, and even some impressive action shots from a few of the boys who'd gone to a baseball game together. But this particular night was different for another reason. Somewhere throughout the course of the night, Kirishima had posted a series of photos so blurry, they could hardly be deciphered.

Multiple conjectures had been made about who he was with or _what_ exactly they were doing, but none of that really concerned Ochako. She scrolled to the bottom of the screen until seeing that Kirishima had come on to ensure everyone that he was fine, if a bit drunk. He'd promised to sleep it off and apologized again for making everyone worry.

The chat died down a bit after that, surprisingly, so she clawed her way out from under her blankets and headed to the bathroom to get ready for the day. She changed into her workout gear and turned on the lights in the kitchen. She'd had to adjust the measurements in her morning smoothie since she was the only one drinking them right now, and she downed it in just a few gulps. Looking around again for Aki before securing her earbuds into her ears, she found the cat soundly asleep on the couch.

"Be back in a bit!" She whispered, plugging the buds into her ear and starting up her playlist on her smartwatch. It had been a birthday present from her parents last year and she was still finding new things to do with it. Technology was truly amazing in the hands of someone who knew how to use it. And Ochako was … working on it.

Outside in the brightening sky, she leaned against the railing to breeze through her morning yoga stretches. A stranger lurking in the corner of her eye caught her attention as he grumbled to himself, but she shrugged it off. Plenty of people mumbled to themselves – Deku the guiltiest of them all, and probably why she was able to ignore such a strange behavior nowadays.

She'd never seen someone out here this early before, even during her regular routine with Deku, but that didn't necessarily mean the other man didn't belong there. As she transitioned from her first warrior pose using downward dog, she stealthily caught a glimpse of the stranger down the hall before switching legs into her second warrior pose. Curious now, she cruised through another downward dog and took a harder look at the man, nearly tumbling over herself in the process.

"Ba…Bakugo-kun?" She called, not realizing she was still upside down and leering at him through her legs.

The stranger in the dark jacket and jeans bristled and whirled around on her. "_What!?_"

"I knew it was you!" Ochako shot upright a little too fast and lost her balance, catching herself on the railing with an excited grin on her face. "It's me! Uraraka!"

"Urarakaaa…?" He echoed, for lack of anything better to say.

"Yeah!" She chirped, trotting over. "Don't you recognize me?"

"Why are you shouting!?" He shouted. "It's so late!"

"Oh, sorry!" She plucked out her earbuds and slipped them beneath her shirt, where they'd remain safe in her sports bra. Then, she froze upon realizing she'd just done that in front of a classmate she hadn't actually seen in years, and cleared her throat in an attempt to clear the air. "So_ late_, huh? What exactly are _you_ up to, then? This is considered _early_ to those of us who went to bed last night." She wriggled her eyebrows dramatically to tease him, blissfully unaware of how close to the mark she'd actually nailed him.

"Ah…" He rubbed the back of his neck and averted his gaze, trying to come up with a decent story that didn't make him sound like the scumbag he was. "I was just…um…on my way home."

"Yeah?" She smiled, eyeing her watch after noting the number of the apartment he'd presumably exited. "I can walk you to the station if you'd like. I'm about to go for my morning run."

Now that she'd mentioned it, something did look different about her. Of course, the years gone by would have matured his former classmates, and Uraraka was no exception. She'd grown a few inches since graduation but nothing too dramatic like his own surprise growth spurt. The big change for him was seeing how athletic her build had become. Her colorful leggings clung to the strong muscles in her thighs, no doubt adept at bracing for the impact of the hard landings that sometimes resulted from her quirk. Her shoulders were squared and held high, and he could make out the ghost of definition in her biceps even as they rested at her side.

But of course, some things never changed. And that round face was no exception to that rule, either. He supposed her hair had gotten longer as well, but he barely paid attention to details like that to be able to tell for certain.

"Where's Deku?" He suddenly asked, completely bypassing her offer whether intentional or not.

"E-e-e-e-eh?" She stammered, round cheeks blushing bright pink. "W-why would Deku be here? What makes you a-ask about him so suddenly out of the b-b-blue like that?"

Her reaction was pure gold and just enough to pull him out of his previous funk, transporting him back to the wonderful age of 16 where he would pick on cute girls like her just to watch them blush. He remembered her having the best humor out of all of them, actually daring to laugh at some of the shit he used to say when others would react with outrage.

"Haaahhhh?" He smirked a wolfish grin, hands in his pockets like the delinquent he once used to be. "Well, I don't know, Uraraka…isn't this Deku's apartment?" He craned his neck dramatically to stare at the door behind her. "I'm actually certain that this is that damn nerd's apartment because _I _was the one who helped him move all his shit in." He sidestepped her with ease in that flustered state and banged on the door. "Deku! Oi, nerd! Your girl's out here waitin' all by herself!"

"Bakugo-kun, please!" Ochako latched onto his arm to keep his hand still and shushed him. "People are still sleeping!"

He couldn't help but laugh at her face. She looked so panicked, like a tiny bunny with a twitchy nose, that it only made him want to tease her more. Like an itch he hadn't scratched in years, there was something so satisfying about her honest reactions that it would be waste not to coax some more out of her.

"So you admit that this is his apartment, then?"

She pursed her lips stubbornly and he wound up his arm to start banging on the door again. Sensing his movement against her skin, she stiffened and finally relented.

"Alright, alright!" She released his arm and stared at the ground. "'S'partmen."

He cupped his ear. "What was that? I didn't quite catch that, Uraraka."

"I said it's Deku's apartment!" She glared at him with a furrowed brow. "Happy now? We live together and didn't want to tell anybody yet."

That last part genuinely took him by surprise, but at least her overreactions finally made sense to him. Of course he'd known since the very first day they were dating, since Deku apparently still considered Bakugo to be one of his closest confidantes. But he didn't know they'd moved in together. That part was news to him.

"I always knew you were dating." He admitted. "Stupid Deku talked to me about it that night he called to ask you to be his girlfriend." He realized he may have taken his teasing a little too far now, and chocked that up to the drinks dulling his pathetic excuse for a filter. "But I didn't know you two were shackin' up yet. How long's that been goin' on for?"

Ochako was still miffed by Bakugo's torment and felt reluctant to fork over any more valuable information he could use against Deku. Because once a bully, always a bully, apparently.

"Aw, c'mon." He goaded. "What, d'you need an apology for hurting your feelings or somethin'?"

The closer he came, the stronger the smell of alcohol became. She placed a hand on his chest to halt his steps before he completely pinned her against her own front door.

"You're drunk." She finally realized.

He chuckled darkly, closing his eyes at her second accurate nail of the night. Morning. Whatever. "Maybe, but I've been comin' down for a while now."

"Well, as you probably already know, Deku _isn't_ home." She snapped back, missing the scant traces of self-hatred he'd left for her to decipher. "He's at the I-Island Expo, so I think you should head home now. If you want, I can help you find the train –"

"That moron really went?"

Ochako paused, brown eyes darting between his crimson gaze for sincerity. His face was so close to hers that she could make out the individual lashes lining his eyes.

"I told him not to go." He carried on, willfully ignorant to her discomfort. "Trouble finds that twerp faster than any bullet could."

"I said the same thing…" She breathed, trying to squeeze out of his clutches as subtly as possible. He was just too close for comfort. "But he still went."

"Idiot." He spat, finally backing off the door and releasing the small girl. "Well, I'm not bailin' his ass out again when the latest villain unleashes a can o' whoop-ass on him." He shoved his hands into his pockets again, the epitome of obstinance.

"I don't think it'll come down to that again." Ochako didn't feel the need to tell him that she was thinking the exact same thoughts. "Look, Bakugo-kun, I'm trying to go for a run. Why don't you come inside and sleep this off? I'll wake you up when I get back."

She tilted her body away from him while she fished around her sports bra again for her key, cheeks flushing when she realized he was staring. Door open, Bakugo traipsed inside and kicked off his shoes without a single protest.

"I'll bring back coffee, so make sure you sleep."

Ochako locked the door again behind him. She half-expected him to pass out right there in the _genkan_. At least it would be easier to clean the floorboards there if he got sick.

With a resolute breath, she returned the key to its hiding place and shivered against the cooled metal. She traipsed down the hallway and took the stairs down to get her heartrate up, not that it had very far to go after such an encounter. The doorman greeted her, eyeballing his watch to tease her about being late this morning and she gave a polite smile and shrug, as if to say she'd accidentally slept in today.

It would be fair to also call Tokyo a city that never slept, and that was doubly true in the waking hours when the trains started running again. Ochako darted through groups of people left and right, party-dresses and pantsuits alike, on her path to her favorite coffee shop. It was just over 4 miles away which meant Ochako could go there and back in an hour, on a good day. She never really liked to toot her own horn, but she would whenever someone asked about her fastest mile, which just so happened to be 6.5 minutes. She couldn't be called much, but slow was not one of them. Not anymore, at least.

* * *

Bakugo ambled through the hallway and stopped by the kitchen with its stylish dark marble countertops. Finding the sink, he plucked a glass from their dishrack and filled it to the brim, emptying it in just a few hungry gulps before refilling it again and looking around appreciatively. Sure, he and Deku had largely put their feud behind them in the years since enrolling at U.A., but that didn't mean they'd given up on trying to beat the other in every other way possible. So how the hell was it possible that Deku – who was four full ranks beneath him and had only a handful of local sponsors backing him – had a nicer apartment than he did!? He touched the smooth counters and relished in their chill – he was still too hot. He wasn't sure if it was the alcohol still swirling around his system or just due to how his night had turned out, but he felt like his skin was crawling.

He peered down at his sparking palms and decided he needed a good fight to get all this tension out of his system. Yeah, that was it. His entire night had gone to shit and he didn't have anything to take it out on. Deku wasn't around to spar with him, and Kirishima wasn't here to take a few blows, either.

"Shit…" He sighed. He wasn't desperate enough to go rifling through someone's apartment in search of some weights…even though he knew that damn nerd had them around here _somewhere_!

The first door he opened was for the toilet and connected bathroom, which only drew his ire further since Deku also had a nicer tub than he did! He had jets, for crying out loud! Ugh, this swanky place was wasted on that damn nerd. He'd be willing to bet that round-face was taking full advantage even if Deku wasn't, though. He remembered her not being able to afford much outside of a flip-phone when they were in school, which almost certainly guaranteed she'd be embracing the hell out of these nonessential amenities while she had them.

The door across from the bathroom was the bedroom and Bakugo tiptoed in like a cat burglar, even though he knew no one was home. It was eerily quiet in the dark room, and the air was suffocatingly still. He didn't have to wonder which side was whose, though. Uraraka hadn't made her side of the bed and Deku still had that damn All-Might alarm clock on his bedside table. He meandered onto Deku's side of the bed and finally located the treasure he'd been looking for. Well, he was looking for a pair of simple weights to lift, but wound up stumbling upon a whole bench press set. But as he looked closer, his sharp eyes noticed a strange wave design in the barbell that sent a sobering punch to his gut.

That design wasn't an accident or deformation in the bar. It was one of the ones he'd seen some people using at the gym because the jagged angle of the metal was easier on their wrists. That meant that Deku's arm was still giving him trouble even after all these years, and he hadn't mentioned a goddamn word to him about it during all this time.

"What else are you keepin' secret…" He growled, spotting a set of clunky-looking dumbbells on the other side of the bench.

Eager to see what Deku was lifting, he quickly grabbed the pair and nearly sent them directly into his face with the force he'd used to curl them. A quick survey of the little number on the side of the weight informed him that it was set for a mere 15 pounds. He was confused until he remembered that just because Deku wasn't home didn't mean his equipment would go unused. Uraraka had made that plenty clear to him earlier, practically ready to use her quirk on him if it meant getting to her run faster. He couldn't help but laugh at the image the thought put into his head.

He replaced the pair of dumbbells into their cradle and clicked the knob on the side, setting the weight limit to its maximum of 60lbs. Before he started his curls, he remembered his clothes and unbuttoned his shirt. He tossed it onto the bed and figured his designer jeans would be fine since it wasn't a real workout, anyway. He plucked the weights out of their resting place and breathed in as he lifted one, exhaling when lowering it back down.

There was something meditative about this, be it his breathing or the view outside of Deku's balcony. He didn't bother counting sets or reps, since he just wanted to sweat. Anything to get the haze of alcohol out of his system faster. It felt like he was driving around a windy road in the fog without any lights on and he was just waiting to crash.

* * *

**A/N: **So clearly, I know nothing about working out. So if you know anything about running or lifting weights and the numbers I gave you seem a bit off, just chock it up to them being Pro Heroes? Unless the numbers I gave are below average, in which case by gods let me know! I wasn't out to make them supermen, but obviously they're going to be fitter than your average bear. So I guess I was trying to make them more in the top tier of average? Oh well, I'm probably just sweating the details here. Anyway, this chapter was named after the song by New Politics, and this may just become the trend from now on…


	10. I Think I'm Okay

**UPROAR**

**Summary:** Just because you're a Pro doesn't mean you're immune to the shit life throws your way. But that's part of the fun, right? Right…? Ugh, All Might made it all look so easy. Aged-up. Rated T for now. Connected drabble series.

**A/N:** This chapter's title comes from the song by Machine Gun Kelly, Yungblood, and Travis Barker. The lyrics are just angsty enough to fit the mood I was trying to set while the music is still upbeat enough to prevent from becoming a complete downer…which is how I hope this chapter turned out, as well! Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 10: I Think I'm Okay

* * *

Ochako balanced her two coffees and baggie of croissants in the tray as she struggled to fish her housekey out of her sports bra. Sure, she could always ring the doorbell, but she didn't want to wake Bakugo in such a rude way. Even though the jerk more than deserved it for how pushy he was this morning…

She pushed the door open and slipped off her sneakers before making her way inside. All was quiet as she tiptoed into the living room, where she presumed her unexpected guest to be. But there was no sign of him on the couch, so she ventured into the study just in case he'd elected to nap in Deku's big armchair instead for some reason. No such luck. At a loss, she impatiently deposited the cardboard tray of breakfast on the kitchen counter and tossed her zip-up on the back of the couch.

He wouldn't have…right? Even someone as brash as Bakugo Katsuki would still have _some_ semblance of manners…right?

She tried the bedroom door and found it thankfully unlocked, opening the door so slowly it impressed even herself. And there in his all his topless glory lay Bakugo Katsuki, snoring logs on Deku's side of the bed with his dumbbells scattered on the carpet nearby. He must have passed out while trying to workout, considering he hadn't even managed to get himself beneath the blankets.

Ochako sighed and slid out of her socks and sweaty outer T-shirt, depositing them into the hamper. She tiptoed around to Deku's side of the bed and gently pulled up the knit blanket they had at the foot of the bed for decorative purposes. She draped it over him, but not before catching sight of the multiple hickeys that had formed all over his body, from the neck down to…she didn't want to know where. She opened the bedside table and fished out two pain relievers for what she assumed would be a headache for the record books. He'd apparently already found his own water.

Grabbing her towel from her side of the room, she made her way into the bathroom for a much-needed shower. Something made her want to wash off this day before it had even really begun. Maybe it was the idea of someone who wasn't quite-a-stranger, yet closer-than-acquaintance rummaging around her house? Not that she'd suspect Bakugo-kun of doing anything untoward in her absence, of course. Clearly, the guy was about as single-minded as Deku was when it came to alcohol – he either wanted to fight or fuck, and finding neither option available Bakugo-kun resorted to exercising like a celibate monk instead. Although, that trail of hickeys was exhibit A in which of the "F's" he'd previously participated in, and she rolled her eyes.

Under the hot spray of the showerhead, Ochako could feel her face begin to flush as she pictured it. She couldn't help it, considering the harder she tried to avoid thinking about it, the harder her mind worked to imagine it for her. Shirtless and pulsing with suppressed energy, what did his muscles look like under the strain of his exertions? Did he huff and puff like Deku did sometimes, pacing his breath to get the most out of that pent-up power?

Even back at school, she would feel guilty for stealing glances at the boys' side of the weight room. Every girl in class 1-A agreed that Todoroki-kun was the best-looking guy in their class, even taking his scar into consideration. Where things began to get less unanimous was when it came down to choosing who had the best muscles or who had the most powerful quirk. Things along those lines were up for heated debate; and very early on in their lives at the dorms, many a night was spent playfully bickering amongst each other for a definitive answer.

Her fantasies led her back to those nights on Yaoyorozu's plush carpeting, grinning and blushing as she listened to Ashido and Hagakure plead their cases about who had the bigger biceps between Kirishima and Bakugo. Ashido swore it was Kirishima, of course, since his hero costume left very little up for debate, while Hagakure insisted it was Bakugo since his costume required him to have strong arms. Ochako remembered speaking up one night in defense of Bakugo, using what Deku had told her about how difficult it had been wield one of his gauntlets during their final exam. But she had been quickly dismissed by Ashido who claimed that of course Deku would have had trouble wielding a gauntlet when his own arms didn't even work properly.

A few of the other girls had immediately come to both Ochako and Deku's defenses and Ashido ultimately apologized for her remark. She didn't mean for it to come out that way, and she knew how Ochako felt about Deku. Even back when she thought she was being stealthy about her crush, it had always been blatantly obvious to her friends.

She wondered what their teenaged selves would have to say about their classmates now. What would a 15-year-old Ochako have done with a shirtless 16-year-old Bakugo-kun slumbering in her bed? Probably completely lose her cool and wind up shrieking loud enough to startle him awake, only for him to find her smushed into the rafters on the ceiling in a panicked activation of her quirk. He'd then call her a stupid round-face and storm out of the room, and depending on his mood he may have teased her later on about how he could have ended their Sports Fest match by just taking off his shirt.

Ochako laughed at herself as she rinsed off and turned off the shower. Her teenaged years may not have been the typical experience had by others, but she was glad to have had them. Who knew what her life may have been without them? Without Bakugo treating her as an equal opponent during the Sports Festival in their first year, it may have taken even longer for her peers to take a girl like her seriously. Because what better way to prove herself than to hold her own against their scariest classmate? And without Deku there to encourage and inspire her growth as a fighter, she may not have developed her fierce determination as early as she did.

She wrapped her fluffy towel around herself and stared at her reflection in the floor-length anti-fog mirror. The vanity lights that surrounded it gave her a healthy glow and she felt better already. So what if things had gotten off to a rocky start this morning? She'd quite literally washed all that negativity down the drain, where it would stay. Yes, she missed Deku and things felt strange without him around. But this was just a brief return to the way things used to be. Yes, Tokyo was more intimidating than the sleepy neighborhoods she was used to, but she was the Zero Gravity Rescue Hero: Uravity, for crying out loud! She had the power to banish her insecurities within her very fingertips. This may not have been her city, but she would make damn sure it knew her name!

* * *

The delicate scent of flowers fluttered around his nose and gently guided him back on the path to the waking world. He groaned and kicked off whatever tangle of fabric had been smothering him, covering his sweltering face with his hand. The strong morning sun filtered through the open blinds on the balcony and he turned away from it. He heard some kind of rustling in the next room and cracked open one eye to peek at who was making so much noise. He caught the tail end of a plush teal-colored towel and the flash of a fleshy leg kicking the door shut, followed by the muffled sound of a hair dryer and instantly remembered where he was.

In spite of his aching head, Bakugo quickly sat up and peered around to survey his options. He spotted the two pain relievers and glass of water on the bedside table and made them both disappear without a second thought. Locating his shirt on the other side of the bed, he shrugged into it and hastily buttoned it back up, not really paying too much attention to accuracy. He slid out of the bed and trotted across the soft carpet to exit the bedroom, spotting a pair of coffee cups and croissants on the kitchen counter.

Without hesitation, he took one of each and drained half the coffee even though it was barely lukewarm by this point. He eyed a magnetic notepad on the fridge and grabbed the marker. Hearing the hair dryer shut off, he made for the _genkan_ and felt his pockets for his wallet and phone before slipping into his shoes. He closed the front door as delicately as possible with his hands full of coffee and croissant and booked it for the elevator.

His phone told him it wasn't quite 8am yet, which meant he hadn't slept the entire day away yet. In the elevator he gulped down the last half of the black coffee and devoured the croissant like it was the last thing he'd ever eat. The doorman in the lobby eyed him as he quickly exited the building and Bakugo tried to ignore every other stranger giving him equally odd looks on the street. He wished for a pair of sunglasses with all his might, until he managed to catch his reflection in a shop window. His shirt was misbuttoned, like he was some frazzled secretary caught having an affair with the boss.

"Dammit." He spat, quickly rearranging his buttons as he galloped down the stairs into the train station. He slapped his wallet against the card reader and breezed through the gates just in time to hop onto the train before its doors slid closed.

It was packed enough to prevent him from snatching up a seat, but not at all close to the real rush hour crowding. He thanked his remaining lucky stars for that, because he wouldn't be able to handle riding for 20 minutes while packed-in like a can of sardines. Instead, he leaned against the wall nearest the exit and closed his eyes while trying to remain as out of the way as possible.

His stop came soon enough, and he gleefully hoofed the two minutes to his apartment, craving nothing more than his own bed and, potentially, a long hot soak in the tub. His doorman greeted him by tipping his hat with a knowing wink and he nodded his head at him in acknowledgment, beelining it for the elevator.

"Bakugo-san."

He paused and turned back around.

"I thought you would want to know that your guest hasn't been down yet this morning." The trustworthy old man informed him.

"My guest?" He echoed, dumbly.

"Yes." The doorman said slowly. "Your friend with the red hair? He showed me your message about the spare key from last night."

"Oh, right." Bakugo shook his head to help the coffee clear it out. "Thanks."

"You're very welcome, sir."

Catching his breath, Bakugo emerged from the elevator and stopped in front of his front door. He punched his code into the keypad on the doorknob and kicked off his shoes, breathing in the scent of his own apartment like it would restore his waning energy. Dragging his feet, he suddenly felt utterly drained as he took in the state of his living room. He stared in disbelief and exhaustion at Mikan, who was sleeping in a neat ball atop his shameless friend's bare ass, as he sawed logs between the legs of an equally nude fawn-haired girl on the couch.

He'd have to set it on fire in order to properly sanitize it.

"Oi!" He barked, kicking the arm of the couch hard enough to shove it across the floor. "Get up!"

The wanton lovers startled awake and leapt off each other like he'd sprayed them with water (which he'd been considering), covering their respective bodies as they turned their bewildered gazes to the fuming Bakugo.

"Ah, Bakugo!" Kirishima smiled. "I'm sorry about this – we drank way too much last night –"

"Save it!" He held up his hand and retrieved the girl's clothes from the floor for her. "And get out!"

"Okay, okay!" The girl relented, unabashedly stepping into her dress in front of the boys. "Can one of you zip me up?"

They stared, dumbfounded and peeved, respectively.

"Get out!" Bakugo commanded again, this time with sparks firing from his hands like warning shots.

The girl collected her underthings and purse from the floor, immediately stuffing them inside. She grabbed her phone and quickly checked her messages, turning an astounded eye to Bakugo.

"_What!?_" He demanded, wondering how much louder he'd have to yell before she'd finally leave.

She only burst out into laughter and shook her head. "Nothing, nothing at all! It's just…so much for Mr. _Explosion_ Hero…"

He slammed his fist against the wall and detonated an explosion that left the drywall crumbling. "GET OUT!"

Kirishima's eyes nearly fell out of his skull, but the girl remained unfazed.

"Yeah, yeah." She smirked. "You said that already." She clapped him on the shoulder as she passed him by and turned back to address Kirishima. "Let's do this again sometime, Eiji-kun." She winked. "You have my number."

Bakugo was practically growling as he watched her collect her shoes and finally disappear out the door.

"What the hell was that?" Kirishima had thankfully replaced his underwear in the time it took Yuri to leave.

"Nothing." Bakugo grumbled, steam rising from his ears in his anger.

"That didn't look like nothing." He insisted.

"Well, that's what it was!" He snapped.

Kirishima took a tentative step forward. "Did something happen last night?"

"No, in fact, _nothing_ happened!" He shouted. "Happy? Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"No, of course not, man!" The redhead assured him when the situation finally dawned on him. "Listen, shit just happens sometimes. We had so many of those stupid drinks last night that I'm surprised I wasn't wheeled out on a gurney!"

His attempt at humor did nothing to brighten Bakugo's foul mood, who was grinding his teeth by this point.

"Why don't you hop in the shower and I'll order us some food in the meantime?" He offered in a softer voice that only irked Bakugo more. "Then we can sneak into the gym at work and beat the shit outta those training dummies, yeah?"

Bad mood aside, that actually did sound pretty nice.

"Sound good?" Kirishima had talked his friend off so many ledges in the past that he had his lines practically memorized by now. "Go on. I'll call you when the food's here."

* * *

Ochako emerged from the bathroom to find the bed empty. She ventured into the vacant kitchen, noting the missing coffee cup and croissant, and peered into the living room. Aki yowled in acknowledgment and Ochako crossed her arms in perplexity, examining the _genkan_ for an extra pair of shoes that weren't there.

"Well, how do you like that?"

She returned to the kitchen, placing her coffee into the microwave and her croissant into the toaster oven. Grasping the handle of the fridge, a note on her dry erase board caught her eye.

"_Thanks._"

She could practically hear the hasty scrawl shouting out at her, but a soft smile crept onto her lips regardless…before the smell of burning bread sent her scrambling for the toaster.

* * *

**A/N: **I love the idea of Kirishima being best buds with Bakugo despite his hair-pin trigger temper and overreactions to the slightest inconveniences. Like Bakugo is high key the most extra person in existence, but Kirishima is always there to diffuse these situations…mostly because he's one of the few people who can actually take an explosive punch from him! Ah, I almost forgot! Next chapter is our first villain appearance!


	11. Fire

**UPROAR**

**Summary:** Just because you're a Pro doesn't mean you're immune to the shit life throws your way. But that's part of the fun, right? Right…? Ugh, All Might made it all look so easy. Aged-up. Rated T for now. Connected drabble series.

**A/N:** Hiiiiiiiii! I'm a few days past my usual update this month, so this time I'll blame it on midterms ;) Anywho, this chapter's title comes from a Barns Courtney song, just so you don't think I couldn't come up with something more creative – it's the song title, dammit! XD Enjoy! (**EDIT:** sorry if you got a double notification for this chapter - I had to reupload because a bunch of the underlined dialogue was missing so I had to go back and do it again!)

* * *

Chapter 11: Fire

* * *

_Five Days Later_

* * *

Bakugo cracked open the cold green tea he'd bought from the vending machine outside the train station and plopped down on the couch. He'd changed into his dark gray joggers; but it was too hot for a real shirt just yet, so he kept that baggy black tank top he'd had for years next to him until he was ready for it. He shifted his towel from his wet hair to around his neck in an effort to cool himself down some more. Even the tea wasn't quite cold enough to help him.

Mikan leapt onto the couch and settled herself down atop Bakugo's shirt, which he should have known would happen. He flipped on the TV and the news blared updates of a raging fire downtown that bathed the night sky orange. His phone had no new messages nor any missed calls, and he cursed before slamming his tea onto the table.

He called Kirishima to see if their agency had been deployed and he finally answered after being sent to voicemail once.

"Little busy, Bakugo." Kirishima sounded out of breath.

"Are you at the fire?!"

"Yeah, where the hell are you?" He demanded.

"I wasn't called!"

"Well, I mean, it's a real rager." He panted. "Maybe your quirk was too risky to use."

"Like hell!" He snapped. "Nobody's faster than my Turbo! I could get those people outta there faster than you can!"

"I'm not here on…rescue duty." His voice faltered as loud noises rumbled in the background. "I'm here to help keep – shit, goddamn it! – the building up!"

"Shit!" Bakugo threw the phone down and paced around the living room, glaring at the TV. He didn't have his full gear with him at home, just a bag with his mask and boots, his gloves, and a few spare grenades to be used in case of emergency if anyone was ever stupid enough to attack him at home.

When the newscaster reiterated the location of the blaze in order to keep people away, Bakugo leapt into action.

"My sister!"

He froze and spun on his heel, heated crimson gaze leaving scorch marks in their haste to locate the woman's voice.

"Who's there?" He demanded. The only other thing in the room with him was the orange cat perched atop his black shirt.

"Well." Mikan spoke, startling Bakugo into the wall (which he still had yet to patch up after he'd punched that hole through it). "I guess the jig is up."

"D-did you just _talk_?"

Mikan leapt off the couch and sat in front of him. She closed her olive orbs and a bright light swirled around her, transforming her into an upright cat-human hybrid. She looked the same as a woman, but with her usual orange fur in place of skin. Her olive orbs were sharp and angled like a cat, and her mouth still curled up in that trademark feline smirk.

"Thanks for all the intel." She winked. "But I've got to go save my sister now."

"Who the hell are you?!" He growled, palms sparking frantically. "You're not going anywhere! Tell me what the hell is going on here!"

She held up her paw-like hands to frame her face in a cute pose. "Why, I'm still your precious Mikan! Can't you tell?"

He eyed the front door and his bedroom door, comparing the distances from where they both currently stood. In the time it would take for him to double-back to grab his gear, this freakshow would likely be long gone down the street.

"No hard feelings, Katsu-kun. I was just following orders, after all."

He wrinkled his nose. "What the _hell_ did you just call me?"

"No good? I guess pet-names are harder than I thought…"

"Cut the bullshit, lady!" He snapped, inching closer to the bedroom as subtly as he possibly could. "Tell me what's going on here!"

"Now, now…" She held up her finger to shake it at him. "You'll have to pay me first."

"Enough!" He warned, fingers itching with sweat as he finally slinked in front of the threshold. "Who hired you?"

Mikan gave him a playful wink before vanishing into another ray of light. Bakugo reacted on reflex, closing his eyes and unleashing a blinding light from his Stun Grenade, diving into his bedroom for cover. Mikan reappeared in her cat form, dazed, and crumpled into a heap on the floor, incessantly scratching at her face to clear her vision. Bakugo quickly dragged the duffle bag out from under his bed, thankful that his limited knowledge on the sharpness of a cat's vision also proved to be their biggest weakness. He slipped into his gloves and scruffed the pesky cat by the excess fur on her neck.

"Just give up." He rolled his eyes when she tried to scratch his armored gloves like she was gutting a rat. "All you did was waste my time." He dropped her into his newly empty duffle bag and zipped it closed.

"Please!" The bag rustled. "My sister lives in that building! I have to save her!"

"Yeah, and who is _she _spying on?" He spat.

With his prisoner secured in her makeshift jail, he went back to slip on his mask and boots. But another bright light erupted from the duffle bag as he hefted it over his shoulder, and Mikan emerged in her hybrid form, tearing the seams right out of the bag and nearly tipping him over like an uneven scale.

"Shit!" He released the handles and tossed the bag at the door with an explosive fist, but she switched back into her cat form to dodge it. Which just meant that he effectively blew off his own front door for her.

"Thanks for the help." She quipped before dashing away from the smoking rubble.

Bakugo gave chase as best he could, but she was too swift for even his Turbo to keep up with. But at least he knew where she was racing off to.

* * *

Ochako breathed as slowly and as steadily as she could, given the circumstances. The once flashy high-rise apartment she used to pass on her morning runs was currently ablaze and threatening to come down around her at any moment. One wrong step and she could punch a hole through the floor that could cause the lower levels to collapse below her. She had to be cautious if she stood any chance at all at rescuing the ones on the floors above the flames before it could spread up to them. By her side was fellow Pro Hero: Gummy, whose quirk allowed him to elongate the bones in both his forearms and legs over great distances like a rubber-band.

His and Ochako's mission was to locate and recover the remaining tenants, floor-by-floor. The ones on the levels immediately above the flames took priority, so they'd been left in the hands of more experienced Pros and firefighters. He wasn't sure if they were too high to jump onto one of those inflatable fire rescue cushions, though.

"How many are there?" Gummy asked, clad in a neon green and black costume that could only be described as an old-timey gentlemen's swimsuit. His torso was armored in order to give him _some_ form of protection, thusly freeing his arms and legs to do what they did best with the least hindrance possible.

Ochako pulled up the information in her visor. "The info we have doesn't definitively say. All we know is that there are 12 apartments per floor, excluding the penthouse suite at the top."

"Assuming there's families mixed in, we could be looking at anywhere from 12 to 48 people altogether." Gummy rolled his eyes in frustration – that didn't give them a lot to work with. It would be too easy for someone to get left behind, or for them to waste time searching for someone who wasn't there.

Ochako nodded her understanding, too optimistic by nature to weigh the risks effectively, even though she wasn't stupid enough to ignore them entirely. "Shall we split up to reach them faster? I'll take this side, you take that side, and we'll meet up at the end of the hall."

"Roger." He agreed, realizing they didn't really have time to lament their lack of intel. "Good luck."

She gave him a thumbs up and turned to the first apartment. Over the years, she'd had a few helpful upgrades to her costume that could only come after the trials of firsthand experience. One of them was temperature-resistant padding in her gloves. This allowed her to properly grasp hot and cold objects without any adverse effects to her hands, which allowed her to quickly snatch the hot doorknob of the first apartment and swing the door open.

Inside, a mother cradled a child under each arm, praying out loud as she soothingly rocked them in their _genkan._

"Oh, praise the lord!" She exclaimed, eagerly shoving her kids into Ochako's awaiting arms. "Thank you, thank you!"

"Is there anyone else here with you?" Ochako needed to know before they began their escape.

"No, it's just us!"

"Good. Follow me, quick!" She trotted over to the windows that they'd marked off with red duct tape as the designated escape routes. "My name is Uravity and my quirk is gravity manipulation. I'm going to lower you and your children down to the sidewalk safely." She explained to the frantic woman. "It's important that you stay as still as possible while I float you down, do you understand?"

She nodded rapidly, though she was probably too relieved or panicked to properly grasp her words.

"Alright." Ochako touched each of them and steadied her breath to guide them out the wide window, one-by-one.

"Whoa, cool!" One of the kids exclaimed excitedly, peering around the night sky.

"We're flying!"

"Thank you, Uravity!" The mother shed tears even as she tried desperately to keep her skirt modestly tucked in. "God bless you!"

Ochako kept a close eye on them as they slowly floated to the ground before finally pressing her fingertips together to release them from her quirk.

Gummy rushed over to another window with a three-person family wrapped within his stretchy arms. He lowered them down the several stories to the safety of the sidewalk much quicker than Ochako had been able to. But that was the nature of his quirk, she supposed, dashing into the next apartment as quickly as she could.

Things progressed about as smoothly as the situation would allow, until Ochako neared an apartment at the end of the hallway. The woman inside was unconscious, which forced Ochako to run inside to fetch her.

"Gummy!" She called. "Can you take this woman? She's unconscious and I have to check the rest of the rooms!"

His wriggly arm appeared in front of the open door like a hungry snake. "Yes, give her to me!"

Ochako hefted the woman over her shoulder to spare some strain from her quirk and deposited her into Gummy's awaiting grasp.

"Hello?" She cupped her hands around her mouth as she called out into the apartment. "I'm here to rescue you! Is there anyone else here?" She ventured through the rooms in search of anybody else who may have also been unconscious, mercifully finding none.

On her way out, a loud rumbling shook the building and the entire floor caved in. She held her breath to capture her shriek, fast fingers working before her mind could even understand the situation. She hovered for a moment over the gaping hole in the floor before floating back to safety on the other side.

Out of breath, her communicator chirped and Gaia's voice was patched through.

Uraraka, the building's coming down! We need to get these people out of here!

"Understood." She replied, watching Gummy unload another family out the window behind her. "I have one more apartment to go and this floor will be clear."

Please hurry and evacuate! We need you down here to help stabilize the foundations! There's been an explosion!

"Roger." She tried the door, but it must have gotten jammed when part of the floor crumbled. Luckily, her quirk lightened the load enough for her to ram it down with her shoulder, and the man was huddled on the floor beneath a damp sheet sprang off the floor into her arms.

Ochako was a bit surprised but her years of rescuing people had sort of desensitized her to panicked overreactions like this. She clutched his shoulders and activated her quirk to lighten the load.

"Sir, is there anyone else here with you?"

"Please! My cat!" He pleaded. "She's still inside! She's all black! Please – she's all I have!"

"Gummy!" Ochako beckoned.

The blonde turned and stretched to snatch the man with no explanation needed. "Got him!"

With a heavy sigh to stamp out her self-preservation instincts, Ochako dashed back into the apartment in search of that damn black cat.

"Uravity, we need to move!" Gummy shouted through their communicator. "Where did you go? This building's coming down!"

"There's a cat in here!"

"I'm sorry, did you just say a _cat_?!"

She switched her visor to night-vision and hit the lights, praying no flames would suddenly emerge and blind her. The smoke was getting too thick to see through and she was about to turn around and give up, when she heard a tiny cry from atop the stranger's refrigerator. There she was.

"Here kitty, kitty." Ochako beckoned in her sweetest voice. "Here, girl. Come on." She approached slowly so as not to frighten the already skittish animal. Once close enough, she snatched her up by her purple rhinestone collar and ran for the window. Gummy was waiting for her with an incredulous look on his face and leapt out right after her.

"Twilight!" The man exclaimed when Ochako floated down to a visible height with the squirming animal in her arms. "Oh, thank you! How can I ever repay you!"

Ochako smiled warmly and relinquished the cat, hardly a moment before Gaia snatched her arm and directed her to the base of the building.

"We have to act fast otherwise we won't be able to save them all – you need to get in there and keep it from coming down." She jutted her thumb at a pile of giant cement blocks. "Red Riot is still in there holding this place up, but he was only supposed to take the place of one support beam. We need to swap out the damaged ones with these temporary ones to make sure the building stays steady. Time is of the essence here."

Ochako nodded and strained her eyes to get a closer look. She could never be truly certain of her chance at success without being inside, but she was willing to risk it if it meant preventing an all-out collapse. After giving each block a quick tap, she ran headlong into the rubble and switched her visor back over to night-mode to survey the extent of the damage. Luckily, the building had been built atop a thick cement foundation, so it had been strong enough to withstand most of the blaze.

So why was it choosing to collapse now? Newer buildings like these were specifically designed with cement blocks in order to minimize structural damage in the event of a fire. Cement didn't burn, bottom line. So just what the hell was going on here? If the flames were hot enough to melt cement, then they would never have been able to set foot inside this place to begin with. Ochako couldn't have been the only one suspicious of what was going on here, but she'd have to save her speculations for later.

Right now, her job was to find any damaged or out-of-place pillars and set them right again with the new ones. Quick feet made quick work, and she was able to dart in-between smoky ashes with relative ease, wondering where exactly Kirishima-kun had been stationed. With a quirk like his, he'd be better suited as close to the center of the building as possible. He'd be able to not only stabilize the foundation as equally as he could, but he'd be best protected from debris since it was usually the walls that came down first.

"Red Riot, do you copy?" Ochako spoke into the communicator, hoping he'd been patched in. "This is Uravity. I've been dispatched to help you stabilize the building."

"Yeah…I'm here." He was panting.

"Where exactly are you?" She questioned, pausing in order to do a proper scan of her surroundings. "I have some temporary support beams with me to replace any damaged ones. Where should I begin?"

"I'm stuck dead center." He replied, sounding a bit out of breath. "I can't move or else the whole place'll come down."

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." He assured, though he sounded increasingly short of breath. "There was a big explosion at the back of the building that caused the most damage. I'd start there if I were you – I can feel the building tilting that way, so we don't have much time."

"Got it."

"I don't know what caused the explosion, but my quirk took the brunt of it. So, please, be careful, Uravity."

That was probably why he sounded so winded, she surmised.

"Roger. I'll be quick."

One pillar to her right had been warped enough to expose charred rebar and she descended like a hawk. She dropped the blocks floating behind her in order to touch the one in front of her. It moved with relative ease, but she was still gentle in her movement lest she set off a lethal game of Jenga.

But just as she had set the new blocks in place, a bright light blinded her through her night-vision and sent her reeling. She tore off her helmet and rubbed her eyes, coughing now after taking in so much fresh hot smoke.

"Get back here, bitch!"

She whirled around, struggling to see in the darkness and learning just how stifling the heat truly was outside the protection of her helmet. Feeling around the ashen ground, she skittered around in search of it before the elements got the best of her. Covering her face with her hand could only stave off the smoke for so long.

"Uravity?" Came Red Riot's patched-in voice from somewhere in the darkness. A second explosion went off and rocked the earth around her. "Uraraka-san, do you copy? Are you alright?"

"Kirishima-kun! I'm here!" She choked back a cough as breathing became a burden. "Do you read me?"

Another explosion went off, this time close enough for her to make out a silhouette. But then again, her vision was beginning to blur so badly that it made no real difference whether her eyes were open or closed.

"Uraraka?" Gaia's voice now came through, sounding more frantic than she'd ever heard. "Ochako-chan – do you copy?"

"Nyaaaa~?"

"Who's th–" Ochako sputtered, interrupted by the next explosion.

It sent Ochako soaring through the air too forcefully for her to use her quirk fast enough. She slammed against the cinderblocks she was supposed to be rebuilding and crumpled onto the ground. Sitting up took more strength than she could muster, but she _had_ to find her helmet if she stood any chance of getting out of this literal hellscape. She devolved into a fit of coughs. Breathing was becoming too much of a chore without any protection against the smoke. It was starting to seep directly through her suit now. She was inhaling too much ash – she could taste that caustic copper acridity. Her eyes began to water, but she'd convinced herself that the stinging smoke was to blame for that.

"Uraraka?!"

Ochako slumped to the ground and closed her eyes. At least the building was still standing and Kirishima-kun was alright. She strained to take in the last shallow breaths she could find, as the tears finally fell and dissolved on her cheeks.

* * *

**A/N:** Dun dun dunnnn! Sorry to leave you on such a terrible cliffhanger but this sucker was 7 pages long already! Next chapter should be out soon though, don't worry! I've got about a quarter of it written already as I upload this one!


	12. Leave the Light On

**UPROAR**

**Summary:** Just because you're a Pro doesn't mean you're immune to the shit life throws your way. But that's part of the fun, right? Right…? Ugh, All Might made it all look so easy. Aged-up. Rated T for now. Connected drabble series.

**A/N:** Oh boy, I'm sorry everybody! Let's just say the holidays reallllllllllly got me distracted…but in a good way, at least! There was the usual holiday craziness going on, but I also became a godmother in December which was more than a welcome surprise! But anyway, to make up for my absence, it's a _double_ update this time! You heard right – two for the price of one! (Or maybe it's more like I'm repaying a debt since I missed a post…?) Well, let's not sweat the details, this title comes from a song as per usual, which is by the band Zero. So, without further ado, enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 12: Leave The Light On

* * *

The television screen bathed the room in a soft blue glow, but the pair had kept it on mute while they worked. The captions scrolled across the bottom of the screen and Melissa couldn't help but look up from her notes to skim them every once in a while.

"They're getting worse." She declared, fingers resting uneasily atop the keys of her laptop.

Her temporary partner looked up from the screen they were sharing to follow her gaze to the TV. He seemed to sigh in agreement. "That's why we need to do everything we can to help. They're fighting for their lives out there."

The local news helicopter was hovering high overhead, showing images of the I-Expo still in full swing. But thanks to that ultimate vantage point, it had become all but impossible to avoid the swarm of protestors currently mobbing the outskirts of the expo.

Melissa sat back in her office chair with a grumble, pushing blonde hair behind her ears and adjusting her glasses in frustration. Her blue eyes stared at the news broadcast on the screen embedded in the wall across from them, dancing across the captions with a frown forming across her brow.

"I should be helping them." She swore, clutching her hands into fists. "If I could have just held onto my father's company, none of this would be happening right now. I could be using all my power to help them right now, instead of sitting here plotting a theft like some cat burglar."

"Hey, you said so yourself – we're doing everything we can right now." Deku stated for what felt like the hundredth time since she'd first explained her situation to him. "And your company was stolen from you, so how –"

"I should have known better, Deku-kun." She insisted. "Nobody would let a company worth millions be run by a girl like me. I should have seen it coming – I played right into their hands like a puppet and now that's all I am to them. Powerless. Useless."

He felt for her, he truly did. But now was just not the time to dwell on the past when her future safety was dwindling day-by-day. The term she'd used when she described her situation was "hostile takeover" and while Deku was certainly not cognizant in the competitiveness of the corporate world, he was able to deduce that they hadn't fought fairly at all. Instead of negotiating with her, her company had been bought out from underneath her practically overnight, and all her loyal board members replaced. And ever since then, Melissa had been kept on their payroll, serving as a brand ambassador to act as the public face of Shield Industries. But she had no voice when it came to the direction of her father's former company.

And things had taken a sharp turn for the worse over the past few weeks. Small protests had sprouted up like weeds until they started to overrun the veritable garden that was I-Island. It had all started with the leaking of a horrific video that showed the execution of a group of scientists, though all faces and identifying features had been edited out. While the exact nature of the video was currently debated across news networks around the world, its intention was clear enough. Someone had leaked it to show to the abominable standards of treatment that the workers had to endure on I-Island, and the workers had had _enough_.

But as bad as the situation had become, it could only get worse were someone to release the original un-doctored footage – with faces, company logos, and location as clear as day. Melissa was one of the many islanders who wanted to track down the murderers, but it was all very hush-hush. The names of the deceased were nowhere to be found, try as she might, which had fueled her hunch that it was part of something much bigger than itself. But she couldn't be sure of anything without proper evidence, of course. And that was where Deku came in. She couldn't trust anyone else and with the timing of the I-Expo, she felt like it would be now or never. The very fate of I-Island rested in a peaceful resolution, but the government had made it abundantly clear that they would not cater to the demands of the protestors, even if all they wanted was justice for the fallen.

Deku's dark green gaze peered at her laptop screen and he flipped the pen between his fingers out of habit. Nervous habit. That's all he'd been reduced to lately. He'd agreed to help Melissa get her company back, whatever the cost, but he was beginning to wonder if things could truly be as simple as that. There was something she wasn't telling him, but he trusted her enough not to pry. She was in a very precarious predicament and he didn't see the benefit of forcing her to tell him something she didn't seem ready to divulge at the moment.

"We'll figure it out." He reassured her. "We just need one piece of evidence to reveal the truth, right? How tough could it be?"

Melissa gave him an incredulous look before turning to her laptop again. On it were the blueprints to the Shield Industries tower, revealing every point of entry and security apparatus in the building. She slid a notepad his way and tilted the screen for him to copy down a schematic version that only he could understand.

"I guess that depends on what you consider tough."

Deku only smirked with a small chuckle before his pen zoomed across the pad to scrawl every relevant fixture. Melissa watched him idly, able to determine his shorthand quickly enough since she already had the building memorized.

Ever since the main research tower on the island had been attacked several years ago, the investing companies had split up their assets across the floating paradise. Apparently, a bunch of smaller targets spread out all over the place felt safer than one large beacon. Melissa had kept Shield Industries in the tower while she still had any say in the matter; but ever since she'd gotten the ax, Shield had jumped ship to one of the outside cities.

While Melissa had stubbornly kept her personal lab in the main tower, it pained her to see all the empty floors from those who had abandoned theirs. But she supposed she couldn't really blame them, after all. No one was allowed to leave the island due to security concerns, so if your company moved you had little other choice but to follow. Finding another company to work for had become nearly impossible due to the widespread fear of secrets being spilled, so people were stuck with their companies for better or worse.

But that very fact made her desire to discover the truth behind the "Execution" (as the infamous video had come to be called) grow even stronger. The media had regurgitated the fact that because of state secrets, no one was permitted to leave I-Island. Therefore, the victims in the video could only blame themselves for attempting to flee with potentially valuable information from their former companies.

But therein lay the fallacy. Anyone from I-Island knew better than to try escaping – it just wasn't worth it. Trade secrets were like currency around these parts – people blackmailed each other like they were simply negotiating their salaries. It was just something you dealt with in a place like I-Island, where privacy and innovation went hand-in-hand. So, it was clear to Melissa and many other natives that something wasn't quite right with the story the media had picked up. These weren't ordinary scientists tragically trying to flee the island. Just like how the designated executioners were not island-standard security enforcers.

"Alright, I think that's good enough." Deku interrupted her stewing. "What do you think?" He turned the notepad her way to reveal his drawing like it was show-and-tell day.

Melissa took it in haphazardly – it didn't matter what they looked like to _her_, after all. "As long as it makes sense to you."

"That bad, huh?" He chuckled, taking in his sketches again. "Well, as long as we can avoid all the security cameras, we should be fine."

"And the armed guards."

"Yeah, no problem." He dismissed, like he hadn't faced down any number of them in the past.

"Don't forget the security bots, either."

"Right…security bots…" It wasn't like he'd fared _terribly_ against them last time, after all. "Um, so about the bots, actually…"

"Relax, Deku-kun." She smiled. "They're Shield model."

"So, you'll be able to – oh?" He shifted in his chair to slip his phone out of his pocket. It was a little late for a phone call, so it took him by surprise. "Excuse me a second."

"Sure."

Deku answered the video-call from Uraraka with a sly smile on his face, wondering what mischief could have warranted such a late-night facetime. But when the call finally patched through, his stomach dropped to the soles of his shoes.

"Oh, thank heaven, I've been trying to reach you for hours!"

"_W-what_?" He managed to choke out, words failing him as his gaze settled on the image of a frazzled-looking Gaia.

"Midoriya-kun, listen to me." Ochako's boss insisted. "There's been an accident."

"What are you talking about?!" He demanded. "Where's Uraraka?!"

* * *

_Earlier That Night_

_ "It's time for us to get serious, Uraraka!" The voice was an excited snarl, but she struggled to find its owner in the blackness surrounding her. A menacing fist clawed through an ashy cloud of smoke and she felt her heart flutter before going silent again._

_ "I think things are getting serious, Uraraka-san." This voice was a nervous warble, and she still couldn't find the source. A scarred hand appeared from the darkness, dangling a shiny key between its fingers and she felt her heart jumpstart again before the beats dropped off. _

"This is serious!"

"Uraraka!"

"–lyzing rhythm, do not touch patient."

"Fuck, clear!"

"C-clear!"

"Analyzing rhythm, do not touch patient…Shock not advised. If needed, begin CPR now."

"Shit, shit, shit!"

"Stay calm and get to it! Your panic isn't helping her."

"Alright! 1! 2! 3! 4!"

Ochako felt pounding on her chest, drawing her higher and higher through the inky darkness of her dreamland with each thrust, like the banging of a war drum rousing her to battle.

"…28! 29! 30! Breathe!"

She felt strong hands grasp her chin and tilt her head, pinching her nose to push air into her mouth. Life swirled through her lungs and the second breath was powerful enough to sweep away the dark tendrils that sought to ensnare her. With a deep gasp, she shoved them away in order to unleash a coughing fit onto the road, dreamworld vanishing as reality violently brought her back to life.

"Atta girl!" Someone rubbed her back as she retched on the pavement and gasped for fresh air. "Get it all out!"

"Fuck's sake…" The other voice breathed.

Ochako rolled onto her back and peered up at a shock of red hair. Her vision was too blurry to make out anything else, until the second figure squatted down next to her and inspected her eyes. He waved a finger in front of her face to follow, which she barely managed to do.

"Kiri…?" Her throat could barely withstand a whisper.

"Yeah, I'm here." He took her hand and gave it a tight squeeze. "Bakugo's here, too."

"Ground…?" Her vision was bleary and starting to compensate by flashing memories before her eyes. She shook her head to clear them away. "Baku…go?"

"Save your breath." His gruff voice was unmistakable next to Kirishima's joyful tenor. "Oi! We need a medic over here!" He stomped away to find one for himself, realizing his voice may not carry as well from the empty alleyway.

"What's…happening?" She croaked.

"Bakugo found you passed out under the rubble." Kirishima supplied the answers he assumed she wanted the most. "You weren't breathing, so we had to do CPR. I think the heat might'a got you."

Ochako still felt weak, but she could feel her strength returning with each breath she took. When did Bakugo get there? Why was he under the building with them in the first place? How long had she been out? Minutes? _Hours?_ She'd completely lost track of her senses.

She latched onto Kirishima's strong hand and tried to pull herself up to a sitting position. He placed his hand on her back again to keep her steady as Bakugo stomped back over with a medic in tow. She spotted Kirishima's trademark Red Riot sash draped across her shoulders and tugged it off. Kirishima caught her hand with a grip fast as a viper, averting his eyes with a blush.

"Well, uh…" He stammered. "We had to rip your costume to get the AED to stick to your skin, and well…that's why we're back here in the alley." He gave a nervous smile. "For your…um, privacy."

"Oh…_oh!_" She hugged his sash tighter around her shoulders in that case. "Thank you." Bakugo appeared and she turned to him. "_Both_ of you – thanks."

The blonde turned away, suddenly blushing at the sight of her, and shrugged. "Medic's here." He jerked his head at Kirishima, and the other hero took the hint and followed him out of the alleyway.

"We'll be right over here if you need us!" The redhead seemed to remember something. "And, sir? Remember who you answer to if you can't fix her…!" He flashed his trademark grin as though that would make the guy feel any better about the thinly veiled threat.

* * *

Kirishima released a drawn-out whistle loud enough to make Bakugo want to clap his hand over his mouth. They sat on the curb just outside the alley, guzzling water bottles provided by both emergency responders and helpful civilians wishing to show their gratitude. He was scrolling through his phone and reading comments people had posted online about the emergency, annotating them at his leisure while they waited for Ochako.

"People are saying you're trying to copy me with your new shirtless look." He giggled like a schoolgirl.

"Morons." Bakugo spat. "Who's dumb enough to think I'm only wearing sweatpants now?"

"Says the dummy who doesn't keep a spare costume at home for this _exact_ reason?"

"Watch it, shitty hair." He warned.

Kirishima ribbed him a little too hard, probably forgetting he didn't have any armor to protect him from a sharp elbow.

"I'm just busting your chops." He grinned, eyes still on his phone. "But y'know…you should _definitely_ tell Mirko about the cat-lady you fought. 'Cuz she's gonna ask what you were doing here when you weren't called in."

Bakugo hung his head and ruffled his hair in frustration. This was the exact conversation he was dreading since he released that first unsanctioned explosion tonight. This was easily his biggest screw up all year, and he'd been struggling to justify it all night. Luckily, they were far enough away from the nosy news reporters and their cameras so he could have more time to brainstorm.

"You gotta, man." Kirishima insisted, clapping him on the shoulder and giving a comforting squeeze. "I mean, this isn't something that'll just settle itself. That cat was working for someone, so imagine all that intel she was able to get off you – rubbing elbows with the Top 10 and all."

Bakugo shot him a displeased glare that could melt steel, but luckily Kirishima was sturdier than that.

"Look, all I'm saying is that we don't know the extent of what she knows, and that's not good."

Bakugo sighed in response and leaned back on the sidewalk, stretching out his legs and remaining mum. But Kirishima was used to that by now. If his friend wasn't in a rage, then he was solemn. There really wasn't much middle-ground with him, except in the case of villain, in which case all bets were off.

"Holy shit!" The redhead suddenly exclaimed, making Bakugo jump.

"What _now_?" He snapped, sounding less than enthused and initially assuming a rogue reporter had hopped the divider again.

"Someone snapped a photo of you and it's going viral! Thirty-seven thousand views already and it's barely been an hour!"

Bakugo snatched the phone from him and ignored his whines about never being lucky enough to go viral no matter how hard he tried to boost his image. Instead, his heated gaze scanned the social media site where even unregistered users could view public images such as this. And there it was right at the top of the page. Bakugo, clad in his civilian joggers and Ground Zero mask, boots, and gloves, soaring through the air with his Turbo bursting from both palms. On his back was an unconscious Uravity, arms dangling around his neck with the smoldering building behind them. Both were covered in sweat and ash, but he just so happened to also be streaked with blood from his fight with Mikan. Beaten, bruised, and scratched up from battle, he looked like he'd been to hell and back.

"Noriko's gonna eat that shit up." He forked the phone back over to his friend, bigger things on his mind than something that would be old news by daybreak. That fucking cat-girl had gotten away and he had no clue what kind of information she had escaped with. Mikan the cat had been languidly lurking around his place for months, but did that mean she'd been spying on him the entire time? Was there ever a regular cat or had it always been her?

"Why couldn't someone have snapped a cool photo of me holding up that damn building all night?" Kirishima loudly lamented, burying his face in his knees and snapping Bakugo out of his brainstorming. "Or even performing those chest compressions on Uraraka-san! That was heroic enough, wasn't it?"

He received a punch for that one, square in the bicep and hard enough to send a shock of pins and needles straight to his fingertips.

"Yeah, alright." He rubbed his arm. "That's fair. I take that one back."

"If you're so upset about it, then go stage your own publicity stunt."

"I've been trying!" He wailed. "The only ones who care are Crimson Riot's fans."

"Then you've got a dedicated fanbase right there." Bakugo pointed out. "Figure out how to make it yours."

"Easy for you to say…" He griped. "You've got Noriko pulling all your strings."

"I ain't some puppet. She doesn't pull my strings." Even though he knew she wholeheartedly did.

"Chill, man." He backpedaled, sticking his foot in his mouth yet again. "I didn't mean it like that."

Their heated glares withered when they heard a small squeaky wheel headed their way. They turned to see Ochako emerge from the alleyway with the medic wheeling an oxygen tank behind her. Kirishima shot to his feet to help her walk while Bakugo eyed the scrawny medic behind her. He beckoned the man over while Kirishima fawned over their old classmate.

"So?" He demanded when the medic didn't readily fork over the information. "What's the prognosis?"

He gave him a wicked side-eye, probably to make up for being dragged over here and threatened earlier. "Are you friend or relative?"

Bakugo scruffed the guy by his collar with one hand to menace him with sparks from the other.

"I'm the guy who's gonna torch off each one of your toes 'til you tell me what I wanna know."

"Ask her yourself!" The medic held up his clipboard as a shield, but didn't budge an inch in spite of his blatant fear. Bakugo would have almost respected the scrawny guy's bravery if he wasn't in his way.

"Bakugo-kun, please!" Ochako called out, removing her breathing mask to yell at him. "I'm fine. Let him go already."

"Saved by the bell." He narrowed his eyes and reluctantly released the other man. "Beat it."

He didn't need to be told twice, scurrying off down the sidewalk with a single outraged look back. Bakugo stuck his jaw out at him and the man scampered off like a hyena frightened away by a lion.

"I only fainted from smoke inhalation." Ochako explained, a bit exasperated. "But I'm fine now."

"That's a relief." Kirishima grinned. "You really had us worried there!"

She gave him a quick smile. "I'm sorry for worrying you, but I should be thanking you both for all your help. I don't know how to repay you."

Bakugo narrowed his eyes in suspicion at her sudden aversion to looking them in the eye. Something wasn't right. Either the medic was too haphazard in his exam or Uraraka had refused his help. Or someone was lying. The care had gone by far too quickly, even by his novice judgment – he'd rescued many people from many fires before, and each victim of smoke inhalation he'd ever seen received a trip to the hospital, even if it was a minor case. And Bakugo didn't consider having to perform CPR on a victim a "minor" case. So, for Uraraka to revive from being unresponsive and not be in a stretcher right now…something wasn't right. Even though she'd only been out for less than a minute, oxygen deprivation just wasn't something people could shrug off on their own.

"You didn't '_only faint'_." Bakugo approached and frowned down at her. "You stopped breathing – you went into cardiac arrest."

Kirishima gave his oldest friend a curious glance, wondering why he was backing the frail girl into the alley wall behind them. Sure, he'd had one helluva night, but hadn't they all?

"Ah, did I?" She chuckled nervously, wrapping Kirishima's sash tighter around herself as she stared at the ground.

"You did." Bakugo's tone almost seemed to mock her. "Hence the CPR. And if that string-bean of a medic didn't tell you that, then I definitely owe him another visit."

Kirishima gave his blond buddy another odd look, extending his arm to put some distance between the pair. "What's the hell's your problem, man? She's clearly fine." He turned back to Ochako. "We're just glad you're alright."

She nodded her head but remained uncharacteristically stoic under Bakugo's watchful eye.

"Then let's get going." He suddenly commanded, suspicion never quite leaving his tone. "We'll take you home."

"Oh, um…" Ochako attempted to scratch her nose, but the oxygen mask prevented her. "I actually have to go…to the hospital."

"You _what_?" Kirishima echoed as Bakugo folded his arms across his bare chest in satisfaction. "I thought you said you were okay!"

"I am, I am!" She insisted. "Really! It's just a precaution!"

Bakugo glared at her until she couldn't take it anymore.

"Alright, fine!" She exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. Kirishima dove for his sash before she knocked it off her chest. "They want to keep me overnight for observation!"

The grumpy blond sighed and dropped his arms to his side in exasperation. "Why didn't you just say so? I knew you were lying from the start. I've been to enough fires to know the drill by now."

Kirishima wisely chose not to jab him on his unintentional pun. Now was simply not the time, as much as it killed him inside not to point it out.

"I'm sorry." Ochako pouted, choosing to stare at his chest until she could meet his eyes again. The cluster of hickeys he'd had as he slumbered in her bed a few days ago had largely vanished, glaring testament to his incredible healing ability. "I just didn't want to worry you two anymore than I already did."

"Don't be silly!" Kirishima chirped. "We'll even come to the hospital with you if you don't want to go alone!"

"That's alright." She declined with a friendly smile. "I've already asked too much of you two tonight – you guys go home. I just want to call Deku and go to bed, anyway."

Bakugo's eyes widened at her slip-up and zeroed-in on Kirishima's goofy grin. Practically in slow-motion, he watched it falter as the gears in his head started turning at the keyword she'd unintentionally unleashed.

"_Deku_?" Kirishima repeated, as though his name held all the answers in the world. "Why? Are you guys dating or something?"

Ochako threw a frantic glance to Bakugo, who could only shrug back in return. At least now they'd know who was better at keeping a secret under wraps…

* * *

**A/N:** Phew, what a doozy! Ochako's memories here while she's unconscious are from her Sports Fest fight against Bakugo, and then I ended up making another memory using a similar line of Deku giving her a key to his place. This sucker clocked in at 8 pages, but I really wanted to make sure I made up for missing an update by giving you a big chapter for this double post. And finally, get CPR certified, kiddos. You could be a hero, too one day! /End PSA)


	13. Mind Your Manners

**UPROAR**

**Summary:** Just because you're a Pro doesn't mean you're immune to the shit life throws your way. But that's part of the fun, right? Right…? Ugh, All Might made it all look so easy. Aged-up. Rated T for now. Connected drabble series.

**A/N:** Double update comin' in hot! Like I said, I tried to make these last two chapters as long as I possibly could to make up for missing an update. There's not much else to say, so let's just get right into it! This chapter's title comes from a song by Slash, Miles Kennedy, and The Conspirators. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 13: Mind Your Manners

* * *

"You sure you wanna stick around?" Kirishima questioned, tossing his spare shirt at him. He plopped his duffle bag onto the empty seat next to Bakugo to zip it closed and awaited the blond's response. "They said she'd be fine."

He sat low in the worn chair of hospital waiting room, ignoring the stares and whispers of the others seated nearby. He highly doubted that he was the strangest thing to ever walk in here, but he'd asked to borrow a shirt to cover up the soot and blood regardless. It was a bit flashy for his taste, but he'd learned to expect that by now. It was a black T-shirt with bright, neon green vector patterns that clustered at the bottom hem and gradually spread out as it reached the collar. Despite his clear suspicions that Kirishima had chosen it specifically because he knew he would hate it, Bakugo slipped it on right there in the waiting room.

"They probably won't let you in until she wakes up, anyway." The redhead insisted, slinging his bag over his shoulder now that the mission was complete. "And that's only if you lie and say you're family, which …" He chuckled. "Well, who would ever believe _you_ two were related?"

The blond could only grunt a vague response, not in the mood to have this conversation right now, but also not irritated enough to ignore his best friend's reasoning altogether. It was definitely a strange limbo of a mood, precariously straddling the line between its growing better or fouling up worse.

"Look man, I'm not gonna stand here and nag you like your wife." Kirishima stated. "I dunno what you're tryin' to accomplish here but I'm gonna head out before the last trains leave." He paused. "Unless you wanna split a cab back home."

At that point, someone got up from their seat and tiptoed tentatively closer to the not-quite-arguing pair.

"Um, excuse me?"

They turned toward the girl, whose mother was apparently too stunned to keep her from interrupting.

"A-are you…" The young teen lowered her voice, peering around like they were being watched. "R-Red Riot?"

Bakugo gave a hearty puff of amusement – usually _he_ was the one getting recognized, so this was probably a nice change of pace for the redhead. Though Kirishima, for his part, struggled to answer. On the one hand, he didn't want to start a commotion in the quiet waiting room so late at night, but the girl had the courtesy to be discreet after all.

"Um, yeah." He answered in an equally low voice. "Yeah, I am."

The girl grinned and practically tackled him with the ferocity of her hug, squeezing as hard as her young arms could. Caught completely off-guard, Kirishima was forced back a step before regaining his footing and seizing in shock as her mother leapt up from her chair across the room.

"Please, excuse my daughter!" She reached them in a flash and attempted to pry the girl from his torso. "Kimiko, come here, don't be rude!"

She ignored her mother and clung even tighter. "Thank you." She buried her face into Kirishima's shirt, which had become damp from a mixture of tears and whatever else her tiny shaking shoulders had conjured out of her. "Thank you for holding up our building – if you didn't, then me and my family would've – we wouldn't –" Her lip began to tremble again, and she muffled her wail by burying her face into his shirt again.

Bakugo watched the encounter silently, unwilling to admit that while Red Riot was the reason the building stood standing, the opposite was true for Ground Zero who nearly earned his namesake tonight.

"Kimiko, please!" Her mother pleaded, tugging on her daughter's shoulders, red in the face. "I'm so sorry, please understand she's very upset about her brother."

"Her brother?" Kirishima finally spoke.

"He fainted from smoke inhalation." She explained, quickly catching herself. "But the doctors say he'll be fine! My husband is inside with him right now – we're waiting out here for the O.K. to be discharged."

"Ah, I'm glad I could help." His voice was as soft as ever as he placed his hands on hers atop her daughter's shoulders. He crouched down to be at Kimiko's eye-level and gave her a smile. "See? The doctors say your brother is gonna be fine! So, don't cry! You don't want him to come out and see you crying, do you?"

She sniffled and shrugged, scrubbing her face with her sleeve. "I dunno…"

"C'mon." He insisted, trademark grin spreading across his face as he stood back up and offered her his hand. "Let's get you something to drink. What do you like – juice, hot cocoa?"

"Really, that's not necessary, you've done plenty already!" Her mother insisted, following the pair to the vending machine. She turned back around after seemingly just remembering the stoic blond still seated behind her. "Thank you as well, sir. Call it a mother's eye, but I can tell by the state of you that you're also a hero. However, please forgive me for not knowing your name."

Bakugo shook his head negatively, acutely aware of all the cellphones that had popped up to record Red Riot's encounter several minutes ago. No one was watching this quiet discussion when they were be filming such a tender moment between the pair across the room.

"I didn't help." He stated tersely, jutting his head to point out Kirishima and the little girl by the vending machine. "That guy has a hard time saying 'no,' by the way, so I'd get over there before your kid empties out all the cocoa."

"Oh, dear!" She spun on her heel and dashed away, chiding Kimiko for trying to swindle a hero out of multiple sugary drinks.

Watching more people approach Kirishima by the vending machine to either shake his hand or get a selfie, Bakugo quietly slipped out of the waiting room and made his way to the nurse's station. The hospital was busy thanks to the fire, so he waited surprisingly patiently for one nurse to finish her phone call before turning to help him.

"I'm looking for Uraraka Ochako." The name still tasted unfamiliar on his tongue, even though he and Deku still spoke regularly.

The nurse typed in her name and scanned the information on her computer screen. "Are you friend or family?" The question was stated as naturally as saying "good morning."

"I'm…f–"

Friend? Hardly. What kind of friend indiscriminately blasts someone hard enough to obliterate the support beam she'd just put up?

"Forget it." He sighed.

"Pardon?" The nurse tilted her head curiously.

He didn't bother trying to explain himself. Instead, he simply turned around and made for the exit without another word. Once outside, he fished his phone from his pocket and dialed the only person who could possibly help him sort out this night.

The call rang for a while before finally connecting on the last ring before voicemail.

"You better have a damn good excuse for this one, Sparky."

* * *

"I'm so sorry, Uraraka!" Deku exclaimed, dark brows knitting together as he brought the phone as close to his face as he possibly could – as if that would transport him into the hospital room with her. "The time difference – we were in the lab – I didn't even hear my–!" He could hardly get his thoughts in order, he was fraught with juggling so many emotions. "What did the doctors say?"

"She's going to be fine, Midoriya-kun." Sayaka, otherwise known as the Pro Hero: Gaia, answered for her.

She held the girl's phone for her so she could focus on her breathing. Currently, they had her on a nebulizer to ensure she had the freshest air possible and the machine roared with purpose beside the hospital bed. The oxygen swirled within her mask and she took deep, even breaths. Sayaka had arrived too late to all the fanfare of the various monitors, IVs, and finger pricks, but she'd made it just in time to catch the tail-end of the doctor's explanation of the nebulizer.

"She had us worried for a moment there, though…"

"No kidding!" His wide green eyes locked onto the older woman, who seriously needed to work on her conversation skills. She had nearly sent _him_ to the ER tonight too with her terrible delivery of news. "What on earth happened?"

Apparently forgetting that she was on a video-call, Ochako frantically gave her boss the universal hand gesture for "ixnay" while Deku watched.

"I saw that!"

She startled with a tiny squeak, caught red-handed.

"Uraraka, tell me what happened." His tender voice was sincere. "Before I go reading rumors online."

The young brunette sighed and nodded her head, giving Sayaka permission to spill the details.

"Well, you see Midoriya-kun." She began. "From what I can understand, the doctors seem to believe that our Ochako-chan succumbed to smoke inhalation."

Deku placed his fingers to his chin in thought, probably attempting to scour through the vast information network that was his brain for everything he knew about the condition.

"She went into cardiac arrest from the lack of oxygen and was found unresponsive underneath the building. The heroes that recovered her performed CPR and possibly saved her life."

Ochako peered out the window at the dark sky, where the bright smoldering building was still visible, and pressed her fingers to her chest to feel her strong heart beating beneath the hospital gown almost in defiance of Sayaka's words. Breathing was still a bit of a hassle what with all the wheezing, but as long as she didn't try to inhale _too_ deeply, she could spare her throat and nose a little scratchiness.

"What was she doing underneath a collapsing building?" Deku demanded, previous kindness disappeared from his voice. "Why was she down there all alone?!"

"Midoriya-kun, I assure you I would not have sent her on a mission I didn't think she could handle."

"I should have been there tonight helping with the fire." He shook his head in disbelief. "I knew I should have brought you here with me. Uraraka, I'm so sorry I wasn't there." He was so sincere it almost broke her heart. "There are problems down here, as well. Have you seen the protests that have erupted here? It's like nowhere is safe anymore…"

She turned back to the camera to peer into his deeply doleful gaze, and gave him an encouraging smile that she hoped he could still see beneath her misty mask. He shouldn't have blamed himself for her injuries, but she understood his frustration. Even now, she couldn't help the pang of guilt she felt for making him worry. But would it have made any difference if she'd kept the severity of her condition from him? He'd find out one way or another through some form of media, so it was better he heard it straight from the horse's mouth. Well, technically the horse's boss' mouth, but she wouldn't split hairs about it.

There was a polite knock on the door and both women peered up as the doctor came in.

"Excuse us, Midoriya-kun." Sayaka begged his pardon, especially considering the frantic state he was in. "The doctor needs a word."

"Alright." He nodded his head and did his best to match Ochako's warm smile. "Keep me posted on any changes, please."

"Roger." Sayaka winked.

The doctor entered the room with a nurse close behind. She held her hand out for the nurse to pass over Ochako's charts and stood at the foot of the bed while perusing them. She nodded her head and mumbled under her breath as she considered all the information before her, and the two heroes waited for her diagnosis with bated breath.

"Good news, Uraraka-san." She clapped the chart shut and placed it in the file attached to the foot the bed. "You'll be able to go home first thing tomorrow morning."

The young hero's entire body seemed to sigh in relief.

"Your vitals have returned to normal and stabilized enough that we don't think you're at any elevated risk of relapse. So, it's really just a precaution that we're keeping you overnight in order to monitor you." She smiled. "But you'll be free to leave once we finish up some final paperwork and show you how to use the at-home nebulizer you'll be taking with you."

"That's a relief." Sayaka said, as the nurse worked on reading the monitors and IVs and other various medical things they'd stuck into her poor sidekick's body.

"But the battle's not necessarily over." The doctor warned. "You'll be taking home the nebulizer to use for the next 5 to 7 days in order to fully clear out your chest. Use it once for 20 minutes before bed and after waking."

Ochako nodded with wide eyes, a bit overwhelmed by everything going on.

"I'll also be prescribing you an inhaler for any asthma-like symptoms you may experience over the next few weeks. Use it anytime you feel short of breath or have a coughing fit."

Ochako swallowed her nerves. This all sounded quite serious.

"What about work?" Sayaka suddenly questioned.

"Ah, yes." The doctor seemed to just remember something. "You're a rescue hero, right?"

Ochako nodded.

"I would definitely take it easy for the next week while the nebulizer works its magic. After that though, it'll be up to your discretion. Let's set a follow-up exam for next week and see how your recovery is coming along."

Both women nodded, feeling like bobble-heads in the shadow of such a flurry of information.

"Oh, don't look so serious." The doctor insisted. "You should be very proud of yourselves – you saved that apartment building and all its inhabitants." Her glasses seemed to twinkle with sudden deviousness. "And thanks to you and your fellow heroes, this hospital is silent as a morgue tonight!" She whirled around with a cackle, leaving her patient to marvel at her very dark doctor humor.

* * *

"Would you gimme a damn minute?!"

Bakugo snatched a hasty Mirko by her shoulder to stop her and she whirled around with fire in her eyes. He opened his mouth to demand she give him a damn minute, but then his phone started to ring from the pocket of his joggers. More startled than anything, he quickly retrieved it and scowled at the caller ID. Fucking Deku always had the worst damn timing in the world and he forcefully silenced the call as if he were shoving his face out of the way in person.

"I'm not dickin' around here, Sparky."

Mirko's armored foot was tapping impatiently, and passersby were starting to stare. Her biceps rivaled Bakugo's when they were folded across her chest like that and that quirk of hers was powerful enough to make the ground start shaking around them. She was several inches shorter than he was, but she more than made up for it with the glare in her blood red gaze.

Bakugo had rushed over to the agency from the hospital after practically pleading with her over the phone to stay back before she went to her office to complete her paperwork. And as much as he didn't want to agree, Kirishima had been right. He had to tell Mirko about what had gone down tonight at the fire, so he figured doing so outside the lobby would give them enough privacy from nosy peers. He quickly put his phone away before Mirko got tired of waiting and immediately got back to business.

"Why the hell would I be lying about a cat-girl?!"

"I don't know!" She barked back. "To make yourself look pathetic enough for me _not_ to suspend?!"

He felt his shoulders stiffen hard as cement, suddenly just as heavy to bear.

"Did the thought not even occur to you, or did you just think your actions tonight would have no consequences?"

"She admitted she was gathering intel!" He raged, ready to breathe fire if only his quirk permitted. "What the hell was I supposed to do – just let her go?"

Mirko snatched the collar of Kirishima's vivid shirt to pull him in close. "You were supposed to _catch_ her." She snarled directly into his ear before shoving him away.

Bakugo stumbled backwards from the jolt but refused to fall.

"Don't bother filling out your paperwork, either. As far as the official reports are concerned, you were never there. That's the goddamn last thing we need getting out." She placed her hands on her hips and Bakugo didn't dare tell her about the photograph that was currently doing rounds online. "Y'know, kid, in the years we've been workin' together, I never really minded that mouth of yours _or_ that shitty attitude that sent the other Pros runnin'." She chuckled darkly and shook her head in disbelief. "But for you to stand there and expect me to clean up your mess for you – and the most pathetic part of this whole thing is: I did!" She released an ironic whistle. "Did you really learn nothin' from me in all this time? You can't count on anyone but _yourself_."

"I wasn't – !"

"Save it." She silenced him with a finger dangerously close to his chin. Strength like hers could have easily broken it for him if she so desired. "Did you want me to praise you for not realizing you were feeding a spy – and then for letting them _escape_?"

"Would you just –"

"Did you even realize that _you're _the reason the building almost came down tonight? Or did your personal crusade take priority over civilian lives? Let's not forget those of your fellow heroes'!"

Bakugo was forced to seethe in silence for once, palms detonating even through his trembling fists. He was so mad he could actually feel his boiling blood surging through his veins, powering his muscles with energy he couldn't rightfully release.

"What?" Mirko baited him. "Nothing to say for once?"

It physically pained him to remain this stoic in the face of a person whose antagonistic reputation preceded his own by over a mile. He didn't want to admit she was right, but he could never lie. He just wanted to do the right thing, but he never could have predicted that it had been the wrong thing all along.

"Rescuing someone from the danger that your _own _carelessness caused does not make you a hero." She continued. "Real heroes don't have to play nice if they don't wanna, but they _have_ to do better than the enemies they're fighting. Otherwise, we may as well be the villains, after all."

His entire body went slack at the idea of his shortsightedness nearly causing an old classmate her life. Kirishima had been there, too, but they both knew a building collapse wouldn't be enough to kill him. That meant Mirko already knew about Uraraka, and that this conversation actually had nothing to do with letting a villain escape.

"…I didn't know she was there."

"Would it have made a difference if you did?"

"Of course, it would have!" He threw her venom right back at her. "You act like you got me all figured out, but you don't have a clue! The reason the villain got away in the first place was because _I let her go_ in order to save Uraraka instead!"

Mirko didn't spare him any slack – he needed to hear this. She'd worked with him long enough to know the only way to get through his thick skull was to drill straight through it.

"I'm gonna need you to pay attention now. You willingly jeopardized an in-progress rescue that we intentionally left you out of because we determined your quirk too risky to use." She huffed. "And now you've got nothing to show for disobeying orders but stupid excuses. Can you even _acknowledge_ how bad the situation would have been if that gravity girl didn't run in and stabilize the foundations that _you _took out?"

"Her name is Uravity."

"It may as well be Joan of Arc to you!" She took a stomping step closer and shook the sidewalk again. "And you're _still_ too stubborn to see that you should be down on your knees kissing her feet! If it weren't for her, that building would be gone and so would half its tenants. And for what? A cat-girl with intel that any mook could look up online anyway?!"

Bakugo averted his heated gaze to the ground.

"I'm putting you on leave until we can figure out what the hell to do with you." She announced. "Any further actions you take as a hero will no longer be affiliated with this agency and will henceforth be considered Vigilantism."

The word sucker-punched him harder than Mirko ever could. "Is that a fucking joke, Rumi?!"

"Does it look like I'm laughin'?" She snapped. "You've had enough warnings. It's time for you to learn that _nobody_ is above the law, no matter how talented they are. What you did tonight crossed the line that no hero can ever cross. You almost killed someone tonight."

* * *

**A/N: **God, I love tearing Bakugo down! He's my favorite character, worry not, but what's the point of featuring him if you don't teach him a lesson along the way? Good thing we only write about our faves, otherwise redemption would not be coming and he would probably just go blowing off steam by blowing things up! Sorry if this was a little ~dramatique~ towards the end – I _may_ have had the Game of Thrones playlist on Spotify going and I also _may_ have gotten a little too swept up in the moment ^^;; I'm also obsessed with Mirko (as if you couldn't tell that by now) and I'm sad we haven't actually seen a whole lot of her in the manga so I had to improvise how she'd react to something like this. Not only does she seem like she'd defend her friends and fellow heroes if it cost her life, but she also seems big on not relying on others, so that's why I made her so quick to attack Bakugo's hotheaded decision that almost got Ochako killed. But don't worry, things should take an interesting turn in the next chapter. See you all then!


	14. Fun Never Ends

**UPROAR**

**Summary:** Just because you're a Pro doesn't mean you're immune to the shit life throws your way. But that's part of the fun, right? Right…? Ugh, All Might made it all look so easy. Aged-up. Rated T for now. Connected drabble series.

**A/N:** Bam! First of the month, y'all! Okie dokes, first thing's first, though. I always respond to the reviews I receive (which gives me a chance to check out your profiles too!) but I wound up receiving one from someone logged in as a guest, so I can't directly PM them my response. So, I figure I'll just answer it here and hope they're the type of person who bothers to read the author's note before a fic! Their question was if this was a Kacchako or IzuOcha fic…and it kind of put me in a bind because my answer right now is IzuOcha, but there's an upcoming event that I'm currently writing that doesn't guarantee that things won't change. Or maybe they'll stay the same. It all depends on how this plot point works itself out because we're so close that it would actually be a waste to spoil it all here! So, right now, this is an IzuOcha fic with a pretty decent chance of that changing after a specific plot point. So, with that out of the way, let's resume our regularly schedule programming. Today's title is brought to you by one of my faves: Barns Courtney. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 14: Fun Never Ends

* * *

_Same Night of the Fire_

* * *

"Alright, I'm in position."

"Roger. Remember, after I kill the power you will only have 25 seconds before the generator kicks in, so every move here counts."

"Got it."

"How many guards do you see?"

"Just the one. Twenty-five seconds seems like plenty of time."

"Good. Just be careful, please, Deku-kun. Something doesn't seem right about this."

"I agree." He clapped on the night-vision visor that Melissa had crafted and closed his eyes to wait for her signal to open them again. "Do it, anyway."

"Standby." She replied, voice transmitting through a tiny earpiece that she had also designed. "Engaging systems…aaaaand…_go!_"

"Oi! Who hit the lights!?"

Dark green eyes snapped opened and Deku exploded from his hiding spot in the ventilation system. The grate clattered noisily from his kick and crashed to the floor, but he remained stealthily high overhead while the enemy investigated the commotion down below.

"What was that!?"

"Stay seated, sir! It's an ambush!" The one security guard in a fancy suit fished his phone from his pocket and flicked on its flashlight in order to locate the source of the crash, and Deku would have cursed if he could have afforded it. In their haste to plan the perfect strike, they had completely forgotten about cell phones…

"Twenty-three seconds." Melissa counted down in his ear.

Suspended from the ceiling using his Black Whip, he silently rappelled into the elegant meeting room where Shield Industries' board of directors often met during the daylight hours. His prize waited for him at the head of the heavy wooden conference table, in front of a stout balding man in an expensive suit. It was a slim black laptop that essentially wielded the key to the entire company in its hard drive, and it had been stolen from Melissa when they had seized control.

"Twenty seconds."

Deku landed on the table as covertly as a cat stalking a bird, gently wrapping his fingers around the computer and prying it free from the various cables that had been plugged into it.

"Who's in here?"

"Sir?"

"Someone's here! I can hear them!" The fat man lunged for the laptop but Deku was too fast for him in the dark.

"The computer's gone! They stole it!"

"Who did?!"

The security whirled his phone at his boss and nearly managed to catch Deku in its light, were it not for the spectacular one-handed backflip he'd executed in order to avoid it. Unfortunately, he could do nothing to stop the way his weight shook the table upon his landing, startling the agitated boss even further.

"Ten seconds, Deku-kun. Get out of there."

She didn't need to tell him twice. Using Black Whip once again, Deku secured himself to the open grate in the ventilation tube and quickly hefted himself back inside. He was thankful for the new dark suit that Melissa had loaned him. It was still a generic prototype that supported the most basic of abilities, but at least it wasn't green and white.

"Get these lights on _now!_" The boss commanded, pointing at the spot that Deku had just vacated.

"The generator should be kicking on any second now, sir!" The guard turned his flashlight every which way up and down the table to assuage his increasingly irritated boss.

"Eight seconds now."

Deku shoved the laptop into the small padded backpack and slipped it over his shoulders in order to make his hasty exit.

"Five seconds, Deku-kun. Where are you?"

"The vent still." He whispered. "The security guard used his phone for light."

"Two seconds now, take off the visor, quick."

He did as told, and a moment later he felt the cool breeze of the air conditioning before he heard the whir of its fans activate. The power was back on, but luckily, they didn't think to have security cameras in the vents. A flaw that Melissa had been more than aware and willing to exploit.

"What now?" He started to slink his way back the way he came now that the A/C rumbling would help cover his trail. "Same escape route?"

"You were always further along in our practice runs, but it should be fine as long as they don't try to follow you into the vent."

It would be obvious to even the most incompetent of mooks where Deku had infiltrated the building from, considering he'd accidentally knocked the grate to the ground in his haste to get started. He made the rookie mistake of not checking whether it was the type that had hinges and would swing open like a door or if it was screwed in on all four corners. Unfortunately for him and his attempt at a silent entrance, it had been the former.

But he could take tiny solace in the fact that they would need a quirk like Black Whip in order to reach up this high, and Melissa had assured him that nobody in Shield Industries did. So, for now he'd be safe.

Until he reached the roof, that is. And then all bets were off.

But he had a lot of climbing to do long before he could even consider coming up with a way to sneak off the helipad without anyone noticing, so there was no sense in worrying about it now. Right now, he just had to be as silent as possible as he wormed his way through these dusty vents and do his best not to get lost. To reach the roof, there was luckily only one direction he needed to go, so as long as he didn't start descending, he would eventually find his way.

"You need to pick up the pace a bit, Deku-kun."

"I'm crawling as fast as I can."

"It's not fast enough." Melissa replied, trying to keep her voice even to keep from panicking. "They're tracking you as we speak."

He froze. "They're _what?!_" His Black Whip fired from his body out of reflex and clung to the sides of the vent walls.

"I don't know how to get them off your trail."

Getting an idea, Deku scooted backwards until the tendrils were nicely taut like a rubber band and slingshot himself through the vents. Quick as a bullet, he zoomed through the dark tunnels using One For All to pad his landings at each corner before ricocheting back off of them. He bounced around like a pinball for a few short minutes before running out of steam and finally laying low again.

"That was great!" Melissa chirped into his earpiece. "You completely disappeared from their grid!"

He wasn't sure if he could have handled anymore bad new at this point, so he was more than relieved to hear it. The praise gave him a moment to catch his breath since using all that enormous power in such a cramped space had taken a lot out of him. Never mind the strain using both quirks at once put on his body, he needed to maintain a laser focus switching power levels in the blink of an eye every time he landed and took off again to avoid denting the walls and giving away his position. A delicate touch was needed to maintain his cover, but none of his quirks could be considered "delicate."

"There's still seven floors to go, though." Melissa got right back to business. "If you can manage that move again, you can clear them in no time at all."

Wiping sweat from his brow, Deku nodded before remembering they were communicating through audio-only.

"Roger…"

He stuck Black Whip to the sides of the walls again and got into position to fire himself off. He released and soared upward to bounce off the top of the next level, careful to avoid damaging the metal and compromising his position. He could feel his legs beginning to tremble with each consecutive rebound and unintentionally dug his fingers into the next wall to catch his breath again. His grip was strong enough to warp the metal, but he highly doubted the whine of it had been loud enough to give him away.

"Deku-kun?"

"I'm alright." He dismissed between huffs. "I just need a second."

"Just four more floors and you're home free."

He would have chuckled if he could spare the breath. Home free to him meant Tokyo, watching the day's Hero Highlights on the news with Uraraka on the couch snuggled under a blanket.

"Okay." He'd found his second wind. "Let's finish this."

With Black Whip clinging to the walls for a third time, he braced for his final takeoff and vanished from the corner. In a flash of electric green sparks, he neared the next turn and flipped like a swimmer in order to kick off in the direction of the next level. But he realized too late that he'd overshot this one by just barely half a percentage. So instead of pushing off the wall like he'd done at the previous corners, he smashed through the metal like a high-speed missile. He crashed through the ceiling and tumbled onto the hard floor along with the rubble.

"Deku-kun!?" Melissa's panic roused him from his temporary stupor. "What was that? What happened? Are you alright?"

Gingerly rolling over to sit up, he slipped the backpack from his shoulders to inspect the laptop. It had cracked perfectly in half, screen and keyboard separated like he'd broken it over his knee. The glass of the screen had splintered and there were plastic crumbs of some sort littering the bottom of the bag. Dejected, Deku dropped it back inside and hung his shoulders.

"I'm fine." He ran his hand through his sweaty mop of hair and looked around the dark room. "But the laptop's shot. It broke my fall."

"That doesn't matter." She spat. "As long as nothing internal is damaged, I can still recover the data. Where are you?"

He stood and shrugged on the backpack. "I dunno."

"Well, what do you see around you? Can you get back into the vents?"

He didn't answer, his jaw was too busy crashing to the floor. Before him lay a series of what could be called prison cells at best and animal pens at worst. Behind a thick wall of glass, the prisoners slept on lackluster cots in a sterile room full of white and steel and plastic.

Cautiously, Deku ventured forward practically on his tiptoes. Though if his dynamic entrance hadn't stirred them, then he doubted his footsteps ever could. On the outside of each panel was a clipboard that he quickly snatched up and eagerly scoured its many pages for whatever information he could decipher.

"Melissa…" He breathed, eyes wide as he flipped through page after page of medical jargon. "Has Shield Industries always kept the people you're treating in jail cells?"

"In _what?_"

He replaced the clipboard to its hook and reached into his backpack to retrieve his cell phone.

"I'm standing in front of jail cells full of people undergoing treatment for their quirks."

"That's impossible." She insisted. "We may keep some research participants isolated from the controls if the experiment calls for it, but they always have access to every other facility they could ever need."

Deku shook his head negatively and held up his phone to snap some photos. He struggled to focus the lens in the darkness of the room but pressed the shutter button, regardless. He was sure Melissa could fix them up later in order to make sense of his poor photography skills, anyway.

The flash burst forth from his phone like a solar flare had exploded from the sun itself, basking the dim cell in near daylight-level brightness. Deku froze. His breath caught in his throat as he struggled to become as invisible as humanly possible. But the damage had been done and he couldn't take it back now. The inmate began to stir in his meager cot, small movements at first that dragged his blanket across his body until he jostled himself awake like breaking free of a suffocating ocean wave.

His bleary gray eyes immediately zeroed-in on Deku and he launched off his cot with enough force to send it careening into the wall behind him. The monitors in his cell began to spike and set off an alarm as he banged his fists against the glass like a raging silverback at the zoo.

"Deku, what did you do?!" Melissa's frantic voice had dropped all semblance of formality as the panic set in. "An entire fleet of security bots are headed your way right now!"

"Dammit." He spat, eyeing the clipboard that was currently bouncing against the glass with every whack from the inmate's mighty fists. Phone in hand, he flicked the flashlight to its highest intensity and shined it into the cell in an attempt to stun the guy long enough to grab the clipboard again.

But all it did was piss him off even more.

Lacing his fingers together, the inmate swung his new mega-fist behind his head and launched it into the barrier with the strength of a catapult. To Deku's horror as he clutched the clipboard to his chest like a frightened nurse, the glass began to splinter. Jittery green eyes met manic gray and for one terrible moment, the inmate appeared to grin at the intruder's visible unease.

Black Whip sprouted from Deku's back like angel wings and ripped him from the spot that would have been his final resting place. Like a deadly double, the inmate's fists finally smashed through the glass barrier at the same time that the security bots began to spill into the room like the proverbial flood. Their sirens wailed in a high-pitched cacophony that sent those giant fists of his to cover his ears, falling to the floor with a scream of his own.

Deku watched the seemingly mindless monster in a mix of horror and confusion before a security bot came whizzing by and clapped its metal claw around his wrist like a handcuff, delivering a shock that forced the clip board from his fingers. Activating One For All, he was able to pry it off and leap away before its pals could do the same. While still airborne, Black Whip tethered him securely to the ceiling and he swung himself to the gaping hole he'd fallen through earlier.

"Melissa, do you copy? I'm headed to the roof now." He pressed his finger to the earpiece, receiving only static in return. His fears over that tiny electrocution had been confirmed – the communicator was fried, and he could only assume the same was true for the tracker in his suit, as well. He was on his own from here on out.

A security bot plunged its claw into the ceiling, just shy of spearing Deku in the thigh, and discharged another bout of electricity into the metal vent. Gritting his teeth to bear the dose, his muscles began to seize and his body went rigid as consequence. The bot roped itself into the vent with him and finally ceased its discharge when its sensors indicated that the intruder was no longer struggling.

When it clamped a claw around Deku's leg to drag him out of the vent, he struck. Green lightning exploded from his body as his anger automatically triggered One For All. It attempted to electrocute him when he tore the claw from his ankle, so he plunged it into its own chassis with a feral roar. Stabbed and sparking, he kicked the bot back down through the hole and glared as it fell into the sea of its fellow mechanical brethren, incapacitating the ones closest to it.

Stealth be damned, Deku just wanted to escape in one piece, so he used what would probably be his final adrenaline rush of the night to propel himself through the remaining floors of vents. When he finally burst through the final vent and clambered onto the roof, he was so relieved to feel the cold night air on his face again that he almost cried.

"Freeze!"

But his reverence for fresh air would have to wait.

"Hands in the air, dirtbag!"

He sighed as he surveyed how many guards he'd have to fend off now. The plan that he and Melissa had spent days devising had gone wildly off-course, but he had finally made it to their rendezvous point. Assuming everything could resume according to plan from here, all Deku had to do was hold these guys off until Melissa could arrive to extract him.

One of them fired their gun and he was able to dodge by pure reflex, diving off the helipad and knocking one into another hard enough to take them both out. He stood again and wiped his brow, shoulders heaving from exertion as he scoured the battlefield again. He just needed to hold out until Melissa arrived. That was all.

"Two down…" He huffed.

"O-open fire!"

He stayed low to the ground and made sure to keep moving. It was harder to hit a moving target, especially at such an awkward angle. Using a combination of Black Whip and One For All, he was able to neutralize as many firearms as he could sink his inky tendrils into, doing his best to strike with just enough power to stun his opponents afterwards.

As he darted across the rooftop, he couldn't shake a nagging sensation that pulled the faintest strings of familiarity within his mind. It was like catching the scantest whiff of perfume that an old friend used to wear – it was strong enough to trigger that needy memory but not solid enough to stand up to search for it. Even though he was distracted with dodging gunfire, he was able to take note of all the bullet holes in the ground. There were far too many to be from this current skirmish, which meant there had been a previous spat before this one. Something wasn't quite right here, but he wasn't able to quite pin down why.

When Melissa's passenger drone finally arrived, it found him standing alone on the helipad huffing hot breath into the cold night air, encircled by a handful of unconscious men in black suits. He turned to the craft hovering above him and gave a weary smile, pointing a thumbs-up into its spotlight.

* * *

**A/N: **Yes! It's been a while since I've been able to post a self-contained chapter that doesn't split between characters, and I'm glad it was this one. Six pages of Deku kicking ass and taking names, what more could you ask for?


	15. Hold Me Now

**UPROAR**

**Summary:** Just because you're a Pro doesn't mean you're immune to the shit life throws your way. But that's part of the fun, right? Right…? Ugh, All Might made it all look so easy. Aged-up. Rated T for now. Connected drabble series.

**A/N:** Holy smokes, okay, so I missed March's update but needless to say shit really got real for everybody last month. I won't bore you with the details of my drama because while there are other people out there a bit better off than I am, there will always be others worse off. And you came here for a bit of a distraction from what's going on in the world, anyway, so I'm not going to drone on about real life bc frankly I'd like a break from it too! But I will mention that I hope wherever you are, you and your loved ones are safe :) So, without further ado, let's get on with it! This chapter's title is a throwback from The Thompson Twins. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 15: Hold Me Now

* * *

_Thirteenth Day of I-Island Expo_

* * *

The alarm went off and Ochako rolled over to hit snooze. Since the fire, her doctor had advised her to take it easy for the next few days while her body recovered. Deku had been sure to call every day to check on her and was always prompt in calling again at exactly 11 pm right before bed. He would regale her with everything he'd done that day, or who he'd met, and sometimes even what he'd eaten. Anything to take her mind off the stifling isolation she had been feeling cooped up in the apartment for so many days.

On her second day back from the hospital, Kirishima had visited to wish her well and bring her some takeout to break up the monotony. He'd been nice enough to stick around for a few hours to keep her company, but Ochako could tell something was off with him. Usually in good spirits and eager to please, much like herself, Kirishima had seemed hesitant and distant that day.

Eventually, he'd spilled the beans after they'd caught a flash of Ochako's now-infamous photo on TV while flipping through the channels for something to watch. She had covered her face in embarrassment and fought him for the remote to change the channel faster, but he'd insisted on hearing out the story. Someone had snapped a photo of an airborne Bakugo the night of the fire. Dressed in joggers and missing half his costume, with an unconscious Ochako on his back to boot, he looked every bit the resilient hero any publicist would sell a kidney to manage. Mercifully, he'd somehow managed to locate Uravity's soot-covered helmet below the building and had replaced it to its rightful place atop her head. And that meant her face had, mercifully, been shielded from the masses.

And while she'd never been the type of hero to keep her face hidden, that didn't necessarily mean she went around boasting about her identity either. Especially considering she couldn't imagine a more unflattering look to debut to the nation than the one of her unconscious face. So, to distract from her mortification, she'd elected to praise Bakugo and Kirishima for their help that night instead of stewing over her embarrassment. And that was when Kirishima's jovial grin had faded and his bright gaze turned somber. Bakugo, he'd explained, had been suspended for his unsanctioned involvement in the fire.

Ochako's alarm buzzed again and she peeked an eye out to shut it off for good. She opened her messaging app, which had been aflutter over the past few days with well wishes from friends, family, and of course her old classmates. But the one chat that remained eerily silent was the one she wanted to hear from the most.

She'd sent Bakugo a private message days ago at Kirishima's behest, but she had yet to hear back from him. The redhead had showed her how to tell when someone had read a message or not, and since then she'd been waiting for that very same sign to no avail.

There was a curious chirp that bounced around the tiles of her bathroom and the sudden appearance the long-haired calico brought a small smile to her face.

"G'morning, Aki."

The cat greeted her by nuzzling her chin with a strong purr and settling down on her chest to block her phone.

"Are you reading my messages?" Ochako teased, swatting his bushy tail out of her face. "Well, good luck. This one's gonna stay a one-way conversation for a while apparently."

With a heavy sigh, she spilled out of the bed and headed into the kitchen to make breakfast. Since she was no longer partaking in her morning run, she'd been able to eat a more substantial meal. Although, that usually just consisted of some kind of jam on toast, or a yogurt parfait with fruit if she was feeling fancy that morning.

She would take her breakfast into the living room since Deku wasn't around to eat with and finish it in front of the TV instead. Then, it was time for her nebulizer. The sound of the motor roaring would frighten Aki away, but he'd always find his way back in eventually.

" _– ongoing protests across I-Island, bolstered by its annual Hero Convention – or I-Expo – appear to have become violent when a clash between civilians and local law enforcement ended with 3 civilians hospitalized. This comes following an attack at Shield Industries Tower, which authorities are currently investigating_." Hinata Teodasu of _Helping Hands with Hinata_ declared.

Ochako paused in loading the cartridge of medicine into the nebulizer in order to listen to the headline. Once she turned the machine on, she would have to turn on the closed captioning since the motor would be too loud to hear over.

"_All victims are believed to be in stable condition, but the clash has caused mass outrage and seems to have rallied an even bigger crowd today. We go to our local reporter, Tamura-san, on the scene right now…_"

"_Good morning from the last day of the I-Island Expo, which has previously been a peaceful and eagerly anticipated event."_ Tamura-san announced, a safe distance from an expansive wave of people all clad in white lab coats. "_But to look out at the crowds today, it is easy to tell that they have not assembled to join in on the last hours of festivities." _

"_Do we know what these protests are about?_" Hinata questioned from her cushy armchair.

"_Well, since there seems to be no definitive leader, it is difficult to say with certainty. But outrage generally seems to stem from the video that was released online several weeks ago, appearing to show the execution of a band of scientists from I-Island. Protestors here have since donned lab coats in solidarity of these workers, who happen to make up the majority of those employed on I-Island._"

"_Are these protests being linked to the attack on Shield Industries Tower?_"

_Tamura-san nodded with a grim expression. _"_I'm being told that is accurate information, Teodasu-san. The Tower was attacked late last night by a band of protestors who destroyed parts of an upper-level floor and stole multiple computers containing sensitive information. Local government is treating the attack as retaliation for the execution in the aforementioned online video._"

_Hinata peered off-camera as she briefly discussed with a producer in a hushed tone. _"_Ladies and gentlemen, I am being told that we have that video in studio as we speak. However, I must warn you that there is highly disturbing content, and we therefore do not have permission to show it in its entirety._"

Ochako breathed a sigh of relief.

"_Yet I'm being told that we do have image-stills that we are permitted to use."_

Her brown eyes reflexively flinched at the grainy screenshots, though they had been heavily edited to expunge any vulgar fixtures or identifying attributes. Basically, it had been reduced to a series of five or six people in white lab coats kneeling on the ground of what appeared to be a rooftop helipad, with a cruelly picturesque skyline around them. They'd been bound with zip-ties behind their backs and seemingly blindfolded, judging by the unnatural streak of color across their blurred-out faces. Both before and behind them stood men in expensive black suits, pointing a blurred-out object at their heads, and Ochako didn't need three guesses to solve the mystery of what they were.

"_Can we assume that these people in the video were attempting to flee the island, which is not permitted due to the nature of I-Island's confidential research?_"

"_That's the leading theory, Teodasu-san_." Tamura-san confirmed. "_However, without a definitive leader here, it's difficult to discern the goals of the protestors. There happen to be similar demands that these groups of people seem to share, some of which include: company transparency, better working conditions, equal distribution of rights, and of course the ability to leave the island_."

"_I see." Hinata adjusted her severely square glasses. "And what is the response from the government and these companies_?"

"_Nothing as of yet._" He replied. "_It is our understanding that the details of those involved in the video have not been disclosed. No company or organization has taken credit, and it is likely that none intend to. However, the government has been trying to resolve the issue peacefully, but they are treating the attack on Shield Industries Tower as a so-called 'first strike' made by protesters."_

_ "Given the presence of so many Pro Heroes over the course of the Expo, I'm sure tensions have been flying quite high_."_ Hinata almost seemed to chuckle._

_ "That is putting it lightly, Teodasu-san." _

"_Well, I'm sure everyone is hoping for a peaceful resolution in this turbulent turn of events. Thank you, Tamura-san."_ Hinata gave a tense smile. "_And now for a change of pace back home, we turn it over to –_"

Ochako turned off the TV and secured the nebulizer over her mouth. She tried to recall what Deku had told her about the protests over the phone, but it was never very much. Either he was so absorbed in the Expo and helping with Melissa's experiments that he was clueless about them, or he was just skimming the waters in order to avoid causing Ochako worry. And considering Deku's notorious observational skills, she was willing to bet the reason for his tight-lipped answers was due to the former.

Breathing in deeply to get the most out of the treatment, Ochako lazily scrolled through her phone. She wasn't looking for anything specific, just something to help the 20-minute dose pass by faster. She saw that her and Bakugo's photo was _still_ trending and quickly swiped to a more palatable story about a teacup pig in rainboots. But no amount of fluff pieces could distract her from that nagging feeling gnawing in the back of her mind. It was the last day of the I-Island Expo and the small protests that had been brushed aside as a mere eyesore had nearly quadrupled into a sizeable problem overnight.

She felt guilty for thinking it, but this vacation had gone by too smoothly that Ochako almost refused to believe Deku would make it back home without some sort of hiccup happening. His flight was tomorrow, but a lot could happen over the course of one day.

The nebulizer automatically shut off and she was startled that her 20 minutes had passed by so quickly. She disposed of the empty cartridge of medicine and headed back into the living room to change out of her pajamas in an attempt to dispel some of the stormy thoughts clouding her head.

Deku would be coming home tomorrow, and she needed to quit worrying about all the things that could go wrong between now and then, and start focusing on how nice it would be to have him back home again. She figured she'd start with making a nice dinner and potentially tidy the place up a bit. With nothing but time on her hands for now, she'd make sure to distract herself enough to make a thorough job of it. She dressed casually today since she was just headed to the food store and bid Aki farewell for a little while.

As she walked, she pondered which ingredients she would need to buy and which ones she already had. That probably would have been a good thing to write down before she left, but she'd been too distracted, so she'd just have to do her best to avoid buying something they already had at home.

Just before she entered the store, she felt her smartwatch begin to buzz and peered down to see why. Deku's name appeared on its tiny screen and she scrambled to fetch her phone from her purse. She leaned against the large sidewalk barriers to answer the call as out-of-the-way as she could. The last time she'd tried to sit on one of these things, she'd managed to fall backwards and into the street, so she was careful to avoid doing that again.

"Hello?" She plugged in her earbuds after realizing it was a video-call.

"_Hi!_" Deku greeted with a bright smile on his face. "_How are you feeling?_" He seemed to take in her surroundings and turned sheepish. "_Oops! I didn't realize you weren't home! Should we switch to an audio call?_"

"It's alright." She grinned, feeling her heart flutter at the idea of seeing him in less than 24 hours after 14 whole days apart. "I'm just going shopping. What would you say to katsudon for dinner tomorrow?"

"_I'd say yes please!_"

"_Hi, Uraraka-san!_" Melissa ducked her head into view and leaned her hands on Deku's shoulders to fit her face into the camera. "_I hope you're feeling better! Deku told me what happened! That's so scary – I hope you're feeling better!_"

Ochako's brown orbs darted between the hands on Deku's shoulders and couldn't help the way her eyebrow twitched in irritation.

"_Melissa's letting me take a few gadgets home._" Deku continued, either too oblivious to notice or just choosing to ignore her territorialism. Besides, it wasn't the first time it'd happened, and it probably wouldn't be the last. "_I'll have to show you how they work when I get home._"

"Oh. How. Nice." Her response was mechanical and Deku tried not to laugh.

"_Could you give us a minute?_" He turned to beseech Melissa.

"_Oh, sure._" The bespectacled blonde nodded. "_I'm glad you're safe, Uraraka-san!" _She bid Ochako farewell and disappeared somewhere off-camera.

"_Better?_"

Ochako felt her face start to flush with embarrassment and she tried to shake it off. Unfortunately, she could only do so by bringing up the one thing she'd been trying to ignore all day.

"Deku-kun, I heard on the news this morning that the protests are getting worse."

His dark green eyes seemed to widen as he blinked in shock, taken aback by the sudden shift in conversation. "_Oh…really?_" He managed to nervously croak out. "_I guess I hadn't noticed. I've been pretty busy otherwise – I barely leave the expo center…which is probably for the best if what you're saying is true."_

Ochako didn't seem convinced. "Of course it is! Why would I lie?"

"_No, I didn't mean it like that!_" He shook his head and backtracked. "_Look, I'm not in any danger here. Security has managed to keep the protestors corralled on the opposite side of the island. And even if they were able to breach the expo center, they've been peaceful this whole time, and this place is full of Pro Heroes, anyway."_

"You sound like you're tempting fate." Ochako grumbled. "There's still one whole day left."

"_Yeah, I know_." He seemed to conceal a wry smile behind his words, though.

"I'm just worried." Ochako admitted. "There's a video online that shows some company executing their own scientists or something just to keep their secrets from getting out. It doesn't seem safe there anymore."

"_Nowhere seems safe anymore…_" It was his turn to catch her off-guard, but he quickly retraced his steps when he spotted the look on her face. "_Ah, sorry. I'm just tired, don't mind my mood! Really! We've been working hard testing out all my new equipment and I guess I'm just eager to come home_." He grinned widely. "_So…you mentioned something about katsudon?_" He wriggled his eyebrows suggestively, excited at the thought of coming home to a hot, homecooked dinner after an international flight.

Ochako nodded, somehow less enthusiastic than she thought she would be after accepting his call. "What time will you be home again?"

He seemed to consider, doing some quick calculations in his head. "_Hopefully no later than 7 o'clock. I'm taking the shuttle from the airport, and from there it'll just be a bunch of train transfers._" He seemed to remember something. "_I'm having my luggage delivered ahead of time, by the way, so it might arrive before me._"

"I'll be home." She dismissed. "What would you like for dessert tomorrow? I was thinking about getting a roll cake."

"_I'd be very surprised if we even made it to dessert._"

She tilted her head in curiosity. Sure, her sweet tooth was bigger than his, but not by a far enough margin that he could credibly turn down an offer of dessert. But then she caught the lusty smirk on his face that he was desperately trying to keep secret from Melissa, who was most likely still lurking somewhere in the lab. And the sight of that look in his eye sent a delightful shiver up her spine that forced her off the guardrail she'd been leaning against.

"_It's been a __long__ two weeks, Uraraka._"

"Ah! D-Deku!" She admonished, pretending to hate the way he breathed her name. Through the earbuds, it sounded like he was right there behind her. Some people passing by shot her an odd look, but she barely noticed.

"_I can't wait to see you._" He continued. "_I'll have to show you how much I missed you._"

Ochako could barely maintain eye contact through the screen anymore. Her cheeks were on fire and her skin was rife with goosebumps. In a flustered tizzy, she panicked and hit the end-call button, leaning back against the barrier to catch her breath. But then the phone buzzed again in her hand and she nearly threw it into traffic.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to get you so riled up…" The message from Deku read, but he'd followed it up with several laughing emojis. "I'll call you again before bed. Have a good day today!"

Ochako glared at the words before typing and deleting several iterations of her response.

"I'll be sure to pay you back later!" She hoped to come off threatening.

"Looking forward to it…"

"Gah!" She flung the phone into her purse and stomped into the store, peering at her reflection in the window in an attempt to calm herself down.

* * *

He pounded on the door again, ignoring the old man who'd peeked his grumpy head out his front door to glare at him in disapproval. He'd been banging for a half hour now, but he wouldn't give up until the door opened.

"I know you're in there, goddammit! I'll sleep out here if I have to!" Kirishima barked. "This shit's getting old now!"

It had been four days since Bakugo had disappeared and each day he only grew more concerned for his oldest friend. His suspension had been the worst-kept secret around the office, but no amount of pleading from him had been able to sway the owner of the agency into reconsidering. As his direct superior, Mirko had been the one to deliver the sentence, whether she agreed with it or not. After the second day, she'd admitted to the pesky Kirishima that while she did agree that Bakugo needed a swift kick in the ass to straighten him out, she didn't agree with the indefinite nature of his punishment. In fact, she wanted her old sidekick back already. Patrols weren't the same without his foul mouth to pass the time and they'd all been forced to pick up the slack in his absence.

She'd told him that if Bakugo could prove that he'd learned his lesson, he'd have a better shot of being invited back to work. But the trouble then became how to go about such a feat – Bakugo wasn't answering anything on his phone or in real life.

"Just give up already." The old man to his side admonished. "And go home. It's late and I want to go to bed."

Kirishima kicked the door out of frustration. "Maybe I'll just break it down, then?!" He shouted, noting how new it looked and figuring it was worth a shot to threaten destroying it again. "Is that what you want?! Don't test me, man, I'll do it!"

"I'm calling the police."

Kirishima quickly retrieved his wallet to show him his license. "I'm a Pro Hero, sir. Please go back inside – this is official hero business."

The old man narrowed his eyes in suspicion, but relented and slowly returned to his apartment like a defeated troll skulking back into his cave.

Kirishima gave an impatient growl and pulled at his hair, smacking his head against Bakugo's front door and squinting through the peephole. "Come out and face me, you…you – YOU BIG PUSSY!"

And for the first time in days, he'd finally heard some semblance of life from behind the door. Unfortunately, it happened to be the crackling sound of liquid nitroglycerin igniting and the stomping footsteps that ensued warned him to brace for impact. The door swung open so fast it would have clipped a lesser man's nose, and the palm that came for his head was flexed like a claw, bearing down like a bomb.

Kirishima activated his quirk just in time to bear the brunt of the blast and recovered quickly enough tackle Bakugo back into his apartment lest he draw any more of his landlord's ire.

"Ya feel better now?!" He demanded the manic crimson gaze below him that was momentarily stunned after getting sacked in the gut by a human battering ram.

Bakugo said nothing, clad in a T-shirt and workout pants, and sporting a wicked 5-o'clock shadow. But in spite of his disheveled appearance, that piercing crimson gaze persisted, which told Kirishima he wasn't ready to give up yet, wind knocked out of him or not.

Bakugo thrusted his elbow into the floor and slammed down his fist, using another explosion to roll them both over and into his weight room. Kirishima slid across the floor and caught himself before crashing into the shelf of various dumbbells.

"Fine!" He leapt to his feet and ripped off his shirt – it was ruined by now, anyway. "If this is what it takes to snap you out of it, then let's go! This has been a long time coming!"

* * *

**A/N: **What did we ever do to deserve Kirishima? He's the manliest man friend you could ever hope for, IMO! Another quick dose of Kirishima, but fear not! Since I missed March's update, that means you get a two-for-one deal! Next chapter will pick up right where we left off in this one!


	16. These Four Walls

**UPROAR**

**Summary:** Just because you're a Pro doesn't mean you're immune to the shit life throws your way. But that's part of the fun, right? Right…? Ugh, All Might made it all look so easy. Aged-up. Rated T for now. Connected drabble series.

**A/N:** Alrighty, like I said last chapter, we get a double dose this month because I missed March's update! And this opening was one of the most fun scenes to write, so I'm really hoping you enjoy reading it! This title comes from the band Pretty Vicious and it's fun as hell so I hope you enjoy that too. You're gonna need it for this one because it's a whirlwind! Enjoy!

**PS:** I had to edit this chapter because there were missing underlines. Thank you valkrus for bringing it to my attention! :)

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Chapter 16: These Four Walls

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Respective tempers flaring, the old friends' fight had quickly devolved into an angry wrestling match on the floor. Their quirks, to the untrained eye, would make this scuffle seem just as one-sided as their first Sports Fest battle, with Bakugo's blasts making him the perfect weapon and Kirishima's tough hide earning him the reputation as a perfect shield. Bakugo would be the safest bet since Kirishima seemingly had no offense with which to repel him.

But many years had passed since their time as the formerly-green teenagers looking to prove themselves as champions. Years of real battles against villains had forced them to use their quirks in nontraditional ways – quite literally thrown to the wolves and forced to adapt or risk death. And, clearly, neither had succumbed just yet.

The weight room was a mess – the dumbbells had long since scattered across the floor, smashing into one of the floor-to-ceiling mirrors and shattering the glass all around them. Bakugo's bench press machine had taken a tumble when Kirishima had repelled his blast and sent him flying into it, and now leaned against the cracked drywall. The only piece of equipment that lay largely unscathed was the treadmill, tucked safely away into the corner under the window.

At some point, Bakugo must have realized he would never be able to get off a blast strong enough to take out Kirishima without blowing the entire apartment building straight to hell – but it wasn't like he actually wanted to, anyway. They were just blowing off some much needed steam – which was the precise moment he'd unintentionally sealed his own fate. With no quirk left to rely on, he'd been reduced to his good old-fashioned fists, which just so happened to be Kirishima's forte.

As big a sadist as his blond friend was often mislabeled, not many people had been able to get close enough to realize just how untrue that reputation actually was. Granted, Bakugo excelled at many a thing and one of those things just so happened to be frightening the ever-loving shit out of those who had the unfortunate ability to piss him off. But beneath those face-value intimidation tactics lay a dark pit of insecurities and imposter syndromes that sometimes drove him down a self-destructive spiral of abuse.

Kirishima had always assumed he'd been the only one close enough to him to learn of his masochistic streak when he'd get into one of his moods, but the first time he'd ever actually witnessed it was back at U.A. when he'd challenged Deku to a late-night fight. A series of teenaged fuck ups had festered within him, culminating in his failure to earn his hero license. It was certainly the final straw and seemed to be the catalyst that lit the fuse that ended with him taking down his biggest rival at the time.

But Kirishima was not Deku. He didn't have a handy treasure trove of quirks he could pick and choose from to help him adapt to any given situation. No, Kirishima only had his one quirk, and where Deku may have had the upper hand in adaptability, Kirishima had the ability to do only one thing and do it _well_.

So, when Bakugo had made the mistake of challenging the human battering ram to a makeshift boxing match, Kirishima made sure to make him regret his decision. It had been a long time coming.

When the blond came at him with that mean right hook, the redhead sidestepped and caught him in the side with a hardened elbow. The blow would have sent another man gasping for air on the ground, but he'd done his best to avoid breaking his rib. In the split second that Bakugo faltered to grasp his side, Kirishima seized his moment and secured him into a headlock.

Not done yet, Bakugo was seeing red as he glared at their reflection in his cracked mirrors. He reached for Kirishima's arms and ducked forward, flipping his taller friend over and landing a spectacular body slam. Quite literally breathless, Kirishima was left stunned and sputtering on the hardwood as the blond descended again. With no shirt to cuff him, Bakugo squatted over him and wrapped his hand around his neck to remind him that he could activate his quirk faster than he could.

"It's over."

"For _you_!" Kirishima growled, snatching the collar of his T-shirt and rolling them over.

The grappling expert pinned him underneath and crushed him with a cross-collar choke, rendering his sparking hands immobile beneath his weight and useless against his hardening quirk. He could feel Bakugo's pulse pounding from the pressure in his hands but wouldn't release him until he officially conceded to him. They both knew their limits, and after so many years getting paid to K-O villains, they had become experts at avoiding the same fate.

The redder Bakugo's face became, the harsher his blasts became until even he could feel himself running out of steam. But he refused to yield, stubbornly glaring into his friend's expectant gaze, remaining stalwart with a stiff upper lip.

With his trembling hands crushing his windpipe, Kirishima could feel the tiny gasps of air he was struggling to take. As the explosions weakened, it became easier for him to bear down one final time to really drive his victory home, before backing off entirely. He released his choke hold and rolled off his friend, glaring at him in annoyance as he simultaneously choked and gasped for air.

Clutching his throat, Bakugo met him with a glare of his own but he wasn't quite sure who he was angrier at. The cracked mirror lay before them and they peered at each other through it, surveying the damage around them as their fighter's high started to dissipate and reality settled back in.

Kirishima ran his fingers through his hair and retrieved his shirt from the floor to wipe the sweat from his brow. Bakugo was still laying on the floor, rubbing his throat and catching his breath. Kirishima gave him his hand to help him sit up and he reluctantly accepted the peace offering after a few moments of deliberation.

"We really did a number on this place, huh?" He chuckled. "Who's gonna clean all this up?"

"Shut up." Bakugo breathed, voice a little hoarse. "You hungry?"

* * *

He couldn't get his mind off the promise of homemade katsudon. But he'd have to wait just one more day. It was his last night here, so there was no more room for mistakes. Their last mission a few nights ago had been a disaster and it ended up causing more harm than good. Deku didn't want to admit it, but he should have known better. As an outsider looking in, he'd always had the ability to view the issues on I-Island through an objective lens. He had the special privilege of predicting how the international media would spin the story, because he'd seen it himself in the days leading up to his trip. And the worst part was, he'd believed their angle simply because no one else was refuting it.

Melissa trusted him specifically to help her and he'd only served to make things worse. She wanted her company back now more than ever to help uncover the truth about the murdered scientists, but Deku had managed to turn that goal on its head. Not only was his break-in being blamed on the protestors, but it had brought a specific scrutiny onto Melissa that she had previously managed to avoid.

So, he could afford no more screw-ups tonight. He refused. Tonight, he was a machine. Cold, precise, and efficient. Clad in a different prototype this time, his mission was solely reconnaissance and his suit had been specialized for it. As though pinning a note to his shirt, Melissa had been sure to remind him that this outfit was not built to withstand the strain his One For All could put on it. She had also expressly warned him _not_ to damage it.

In other words – no fighting, or it would be his ass on the line this time.

With fewer bells and whistles to work with, Deku had been forced to infiltrate the tower the old-fashioned way. Dropped from Melissa's passenger drone, he used the built-in webbing between his limbs to glide through one of the broken windows like a flying squirrel. Unused to flight of any sort, his landing had been less than spectacular, ripping straight through the caution tape cordoning off the windows and tumbling directly into a marble lab table. The crash had sent several things scattering off the top as he nursed his throbbing cranium with a stifled curse.

"Are you in?" He could practically hear the sigh in Melissa's voice.

"Yes." He replied tersely, not seeing the need to regale her with the details. "I'm in. How's it look?"

"You're clear. The cameras are still down from last time, from what I can see."

Melissa had spent the whole night and next day reconstructing the laptop that Deku had retrieved. She'd been able to get it in working order and accessed hundreds of confidential files full of damning details about the company's shady affairs. But it wasn't enough anymore. With the media pinning the break-in on the protestors, any information put forth now would just be dismissed as make believe to fuel their cause. They wouldn't take it seriously without hard evidence, which was the goal of tonight's mission.

"If you can gather more photos of the entire lab, we'll have a better chance of standing up to scrutiny." She explained. "And remember to keep your flash off this time, Deku-kun."

He chuckled, suddenly sheepish. "I know…" Plucking his phone from his suit, he did as instructed and snapped up photos like he was on vacation. The lab tables were rife with paperwork and names and signatures; and while they were meaningless to him, he knew Melissa would be able to do a lot of damage with that kind of information. "How am I looking?"

"Still clear." She chuckled. "As long as you keep the hood up, the suit will remain camouflaged from visible light. You're a ghost right now."

He didn't appreciate that particular comparison, especially as he drew closer to the prison cells. The glass barrier that had been shattered the other night had also been blocked off by caution tape, and the cell remained empty. He tore the tape away and stepped through the threshold, glass crunching underfoot. It was cramped even for him, so he couldn't imagine how it must have fell for that huge inmate to be confined in here.

Multiple monitors slept on the walls and an IV drip lay toppled on the floor. Deku crouched down to inspect the murky liquid in the bag, carefully plucking it off the drip and securing it into his backpack.

"What do you think happened to them?"

"To who?"

"The inmates that were here the other night." He clicked a few more photos of the cramped space.

"They should still be there." She replied, simply.

He lowered his phone slowly. "As in here where _I_ am?"

"That's what the files indicate." Her calm tone of voice told him that she didn't quite fully understand the implications of her words. "Only one patient has been moved. He went from cell #3 to #5. The rest of them are right where they always were."

"Melissa, these cells are empty – the doors are all open." He insisted, pressing the earpiece to make sure his words were as clear as possible. "I'm standing inside the broken one as we speak."

"Why are you inside?"

"To take pictures!"

"Well, get out!" She snapped. "We don't know what sort of residual materials could be inside there."

"Alright, alright." He really couldn't argue, even if he was wearing a mask. If anyone knew its limits, after all, it was its creator. "I collected a sample of whatever drug they were pumping to this guy, either way."

"Make sure it's secured in the sterile–"

"I _know_, Melissa." He chuckled. "I do this for a living, remember?" He hopped out of the cell and turned around to get one final photo of it.

"For a living, you say…?"

"Who–"

Something snatched his collar and tugged him forward, but he slipped on the broken glass and tripped into a pile of it. He lay half in, half out of the cell as a murky fog burst from a gaggle of holes in the ceiling. It filtered through his mask and he wound up inhaling just the faintest of amounts before he reflexively held his breath and shot to his feet again.

"What's going on?" Melissa demanded.

Deku tore the mask from his face in an effort to take in fresh air again. "There's someone here."

"Get out of there! We have more than enough evidence now!"

From the gas on the ceiling of cell #3 appeared a woman in a white inmate uniform. She crawled down from the ceiling and onto the floor in a way that Deku instantly recognized as some sort of mutation-style quirk just from past experience. He was able to confirm his suspicion when the literal smoke cleared and revealed her face to him. Most striking was her nose, or rather, lack thereof. In its place were two large slits that waxed and waned with each breath. Her eyes were large and protruded like a lizard's, moving independently of each other. She used one of her four-pronged hands to brush her black hair out of her face, grinning her wide mouth.

"You're the same kid from the other night!" She took an excited step closer.

Deku matched her movements with a few of his own, namely walking backwards and replacing his mask. The window he'd come through was just a quick leap away.

"Don't run!" She insisted. "They all run from me!"

Against his better judgment, he stopped. There was something in the tone of her voice that cut through his survival instincts.

"Who are you?" He demanded. "Why did you attack me?"

"I thought you were a guard."

That was fair enough, he supposed.

"What's your name?"

"Four."

"_Four_?" He was more surprised by how compliant she was being.

"I don't like this, Deku-kun." Melissa chimed from within his ear. "The fourth cell belongs to a woman undergoing treatment for neurotoxins she secretes from her skin."

Deku audibly gulped.

"What's your name?" She nodded her head pleasantly, long tongue flicking from her mouth to moisten one of her bulbous eyeballs. "You met Three the other night, and the rest are still hiding, so it's just me right now."

"U-uh, my name is…Deku."

"What on earth are you doing!? Get out of there while you still have the chance!"

"That's a funny name." Four chuckled. "How about the woman in your ear?"

He froze. "Th-the what?"

Four smiled, revealing a series of tiny crocodilian teeth. "What's her name?"

"How…do you know about her?"

There was a tussling sound from behind the series of cells and suddenly, the massive inmate Deku met the other night appeared. He was even larger without a barrier between them, barrel-chested and slowly encroaching.

"You remember Three, don't you?" Four chirped from somewhere behind him. "He remembers you…"

"Deku, run!"

His legs acted before his brain could register what was happening. In a flash of green sparks, he was high above the pair and able to finally see the other two inmates huddled together behind the cells. Three's fists had hammered a sizable dent in the floor where Deku formerly stood, and Black Whip sprouted to swing him over to the shoddily patched-up hole in the ventilation system. He remained there for several moments while he caught his breath.

"Deku-kun, I'm going to give you an opening to escape."

He listened silently, lest he give away his hiding spot.

"I can release a sedative gas from the ceiling to knock them all out, but it'll also affect you if you aren't fast enough."

"Roger." He whispered, adjusting into a crouched position to spring into action.

"In 3…2…1!"

He launched himself from the vent and aimed his gliders to shoot for the broken window. The entire ceiling burst open to unleash a veil of murky smoke into the lab and Deku held his breath the entire ride down. But mere moments from the fresh air outside the window, something struck him with the force of a punch and ripped his mask from his face. He gasped out of reflexive shock and collapsed off-kilter into the wall, sedative gas raining down around him like an ethereal fog.

His dark green gaze located the four inmates standing in a row nearby, proper lab masks covering all their faces, except for Four. She'd temporarily removed her mask in order to snatch Deku's mask with her ballistic tongue. She spat it out and waved it in front of him before tossing it over her head, where it disappeared into the smoke.

"I knew you weren't here to help." She growled, covering her face so she could breathe again. "Three, take care of him."

Deku may have been struggling to stay conscious, but he knew a slasher smile when he saw one. Three descended like the night, blocking the light with his hulking shadow and cracking his knuckles just because he could. He balled his meaty fingers into a fist and wound up to strike.

"Deku-kun, stay down!"

He blocked the blow with his Black Whip and forced Three to jump back on the defensive. Behind him, Melissa's passenger drone appeared and blasted apart the windows with a pair of small but effective Gatling guns. Glass shattered around him, but he was still able to block the larger pieces and swat away the smaller ones. The four inmates scattered the moment the windows broke apart, but the barrage was too overwhelming for any of them to effectively avoid. By the time Melissa had emptied both clips, the quartet was strewn across the floor in various states of fight or flight.

"Get in, quick!" She urged. "Those were just stun rounds, so I don't know how effective the shocks were."

Deku didn't need to be told twice. He scraped himself off the floor and leapt out the window into the awaiting cockpit, struggling to keep his eyes open.

"Were you hit?" Melissa's face appeared before him on a screen on the control panel. Remotely, she sealed the drone around him and activated its cloaking device before steering it into the night sky.

"No." He answered, shrugging off the backpack full of evidence. "I inhaled the smoke, though."

Melissa chuckled. "Well, you'll sleep like a baby tonight."

He smiled. "I hope so. I have a flight to catch in the morning."

* * *

That morning, Ochako had been too excited to snooze her alarm when it went off. Instead, she'd leapt clear across the room and hustled to start the day. She ate breakfast and nebulized all in the quick span of a half-hour, even though she had the entire day to get done whatever she needed. Her energy came from a giddy excitement that surged electricity through her veins, powered by her pounding heart that only began to race faster as the hours wore on.

But after an asthma attack had sent her scrambling to the balcony for fresh air, she'd pulled off her panda-decorated surgical mask in order to puff on her inhaler. She caught her breath and wondered to the lounging Aki how she'd ever get the cleaning done if the chemicals were becoming triggers. The cat seemed to stare at her with a sudden interest the more Ochako blathered on, leaning against the railing of the balcony and letting the sunshine revitalize her like a flower.

"Deku will only worry if he sees me like this." She admitted. "And Sayaka-san will probably limit the kinds of patrols I'm allowed to join until I get this under control, too."

Aki chirped and leapt down from the chair he was sleeping in, rubbing his soft fur against Ochako's leg in a soothing gesture. Ochako bent down to give him some scratches under his chin, making the cat close his eyes in delight and purr.

"Oh, Aki." She sighed. "It must be so nice to be a cat – just sleeping all day and getting pats whenever you ask. That's the life."

Her phone went off and the jingle forced her to return inside to check it. It had hardly been an hour since Deku's last update, so she wondered what he could have wanted now. Surely, he hadn't missed his flight so maybe there had been a delay.

You up? We need to talk. Let's meet today.

In her excitement over seeing Deku again, she hadn't even bothered to read who the message was actually from. And in her hastiness to answer the message, she'd sealed her own fate now that he could see that she'd already opened it. She hadn't received an answer to her own requests to meet up with Bakugo-kun for days, and now he finally chose today of all days to make this request? Without even so much as a "hello" to butter her up in the first place?

What are you doing rn? Came his follow up demand.

She wished she could say his impatience surprised her, but restraint was never the first word that came to mind when she thought of Bakugo-kun. Panda mask still in her pocket, she reasoned that she could probably use a break anyway. And the _only_ reason she was agreeing to meet was because she needed a dose of fresh air, and _not_ because she'd been ungraciously beckoned like a medieval squire.

I'm free for a bit this afternoon. She wrote back. I need to pick up a roll cake from the bakery, so let's meet there. She sent over the directions – a handy feature that Deku had taught her how to do in case she'd ever need to send her location in an emergency. Technology was truly marvelous, when she knew how to use it.

Roll cake? Sure you don't wanna lay off those sweets, Round Face?

She sent him a stream of emoji stickers as her cheeks heated up in outrage.

Alright, alright! He barked back. I'll buy you the cake to make up for it! Happy?

That may not have been the apology she was looking for, but it would do. Especially since it was probably the closest thing to an "I'm sorry" she would ever get out of Bakugo-kun.

* * *

**A/N:** So, nothing too dramatic this time. For once. Just pure action and a little fun if adventure is your thing. I think I owed you all that much after the past couple of intense chapters ^^;; I also noticed that Bakugo's nickname for Ochako varies from the sub to the dub, so I'll probably wind up using both Pink Cheeks and Round Face depending on his mood because I can't pick a favorite. See you next chapter!


	17. Take What You Want

**UPROAR**

**Summary:** Just because you're a Pro doesn't mean you're immune to the shit life throws your way. But that's part of the fun, right? Right…? Ugh, All Might made it all look so easy. Aged-up. Rated T for now. Connected drabble series.

**A/N:** Okay so I know I owe you a May and June update, but I'm still technically working on June's as of this update, so to make up for that I decided not to edit down this chapter to a shorter length like I would normally do. So fair warning that this chapter is the biggest one yet! Specifically because of where we're headed next chapter. Our title comes from One Ok Rock & 5 Seconds of Summer. It's the right mix of sweetness and drama, just like this chapter ^^! Oh, and here's your obligatory smut warning for the scene that closes out this monster (after the ### of course)! Enjoy!

**PS:** I have to apologize if you got a double notification today! I had to edit the previous chapter because one eagle-eyed reviewer brought a huge error to my attention, but because my quarantine brain short-circuited or something I couldn't find it until I went back to look again right before posting this chapter! So, thank you again to valkrus for pointing out I had forgotten to add underlines to the texts last time! I made sure to double check this chapter before posting ;)

* * *

Chapter 17: Take What You Want

* * *

He must have been antsier than he figured. He'd made it to the bakery eight minutes faster than his GPS told him he would, and that was _with_ the walking time estimated in. Unconsciously, he'd been bouncing his leg in his chair while he waited for Uraraka, anxiously biting his lip as he kept himself busy scrolling through his phone. He wasn't exactly sure what he was looking for, but if it didn't revolve around that fucking photograph of him from the apartment fire, he'd take it. Even though he felt like the absolute moron Kirishima pointed him out to be, at least he'd remembered to wear his costume's mask that night.

He was still recovering from their sparring match last night, but at least they'd each been courteous enough to land blows that could be easily hidden beneath their clothes. He couldn't say much for the tenderness around his throat though, except perhaps that he was thankful it wasn't bruised. Because in that case, good luck explaining why he would be wearing a turtleneck in the middle of summer.

Still, he'd been cautious since Uraraka had named a place square in his neighborhood. He'd been told that his black baseball cap, dark sunglasses, and black surgical mask actually made him stand out even more than if he didn't wear them at all, but at least the person underneath the guise wasn't being recognized anytime soon, even if he was being stared at.

His phone buzzed in his hand and he peered at the preview that dropped down from the top of his screen like a polite curtain, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at its contents.

"Need to talk ASAP."

Deku wasn't normally one for ominous texts, so the request definitely threw him off. And if Bakugo was forced off-kilter by any more surprises, he'd be laying sideways on the floor.

A gentle tap on his shoulder startled him and he quickly slammed his phone down to whirl around. He didn't want to be caught staring at the viral photo of him and Uravity again, even though the potential of skyrocketing to national fame was too much for Noriko to officially drop him over, suspension in effect or not.

And there stood Uraraka, possibly the only person light-footed enough to ever get the drop on him, clad in an All-Might T-shirt (that was clearly Deku's) tucked into a pair of pastel-colored high-waisted linen shorts. A great idea in a sticky summer heatwave like this.

She chuckled when she got a good look at him and he couldn't help the way his heart started to hammer within his chest. He would never admit to it, but ever since the night of the fire, he'd been terrified that she would have grown to despise him for what he'd done. Especially taking into consideration the fact that the last time they'd properly spoken, he'd passed out in her bed and left without so much as a goodbye after she'd shown him nothing but kindness and generosity.

"You look ready to rob a bank." Her smile was not the smile of someone recovering from near-death. "Should I alert the authorities?"

Bakugo had his lines rehearsed since he'd resolved to ask her to meet this morning, but everything he'd practiced had quite literally flown out the window she'd seemingly floated through. And she appeared to sense that.

"C-can I sit down?" She asked.

Bakugo nodded dumbly, in a silent stupor that was so unnatural compared to his usual cockiness that he could tell it was unnerving her. What the fuck was wrong with him?

"So." She cleared her throat and peered around, catching the eye of a server and willing her break up this awkward atmosphere. "Have you ever been here before?"

"No." He answered, removing his sunglasses and slipping them into the collar of his shirt. "I'm not big on sweets."

"Oh." She adjusted her legs in the chair across from him. "I didn't know that. Sorry for suggesting this place, then."

Bakugo sighed, just in time for the server to arrive and interrupt any sort of recovery he could have made.

"Welcome! Have you decided on what you'd like to order?"

"Get whatever you want." Bakugo stated, a little too eagerly for his liking. He needed to get a fucking grip before he became the one defying gravity. "I'm paying."

Ochako beamed again. "Well in that case, I'll have an iced milk tea and your chestnut Mont blanc, please."

The server turned to Bakugo expectantly.

"Coffee." He said, lowering his surgical mask to below his chin. "Black."

"Anything to eat? We have lunch items, as well." She offered, ever the salesman. "Might I suggest our croque-madame? It's our house sandwich and it comes with a side salad."

"Yeah, sure." He couldn't be bothered to make such a decision right now. Not when he had so many other things on his mind, with the source of said maelstrom sitting an arm's length away from him.

"Coming right up." The server smiled and disappeared just as quickly as she came.

In the newfound silence, timid brown eyes met flustered crimson across the table and they both opened their mouths to speak first.

"So –"

"Listen –"

They both stopped.

"You go ahead." Spoken in tandem again.

"No, that's alright." Came the mirrored response.

Both shut their mouths and stared at the other for a long moment until Ochako broke the contest with a hearty laugh. At that, Bakugo sat back and removed his black baseball cap to run his fingers through his hair, replacing it backwards so the visor didn't obscure his eyes anymore. If he was going to be treated like a delinquent again, he may as well look the part.

"I was happy to receive your response this morning, even if it was a bit late." She told him. "You had me worried for a while – Kirishima-kun told me what happened at your agency and I just feel terrible about how they…" She was rambling and promptly caught herself before she said anything to offend him – if there was anything Bakugo-kun couldn't stand, it was pity. "How are you doing?"

"I should be askin' you that." He answered, picking up on her not-so-graceful swerve to avoid the veritable elephant between them. "I shoulda been the one reachin' out to you, instead. That wasn't right."

Ochako waved her hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it. You knew I was fine when I left for the hospital that night."

He shifted in his seat. "That's actually what I wanted to talk about." He inhaled deeply. "Uraraka, that night at the fire. I wasn't…supposed to be there."

She tilted her head with a curious look, reminding him so much of a tiny puppy hearing a sound for the first time. "Well, I guess that explains why you weren't in your costume."

He ignored her attempt at levity lest he lose steam. "I was chasing a villain and she led me straight into the building. I couldn't let her get away, so we fought down there while the place burned all around us – I didn't care about the fire, I just wanted to capture her." He swallowed and caught his breath, not used to these one-sided confessions. He'd rather face down a villain than face the truth. "And because of my quirk – no, because of _me_, the building started to collapse…but we just kept fighting. I almost had her – I was _so_ close." He squeezed his fists as though doing so could put Mikan in handcuffs right there and now. "But then I saw you lying there on the ground…because of what I'd done."

Ochako remained silent, eyebrows slowly knitting together as she listened to him in earnest.

"And then it finally clicked – why I wasn't called in to help." He opened his hands, realizing he'd been squeezing hard enough to leave little crescent moons in his palms. "So I let her go. Because saving you was more important than getting the villain. And I'm so sorry, Uraraka. Seeing you lying there not breathing because of something I'd done, I felt like the villain for the first time in my life."

At that, Ochako snatched his hands up and pulled them into the middle of the table, ignoring the shocked look in his once-solemn gaze.

"Bakugo-kun." She spoke resolutely, leaning into the table to get as close as she could. "You are not a villain. You're grumpy and scary and loud, but that does not make you an bad person." She smiled at him even though she could feel tears beginning to prick her eyes at the idea of him feeling this way all this time. "Everybody makes mistakes – even heroes. We're still human under our masks even if society sometimes doesn't want to remember that." She gave his hands a tight squeeze, getting to her feet as if to make her points stand taller too. "The fact that you saved me – even if it meant letting a villain get away – means that you are _not_ like them. You realized your mistake and did everything in your power to fix it. What's more, you felt remorse enough to come here and apologize to me in person! Name one villain who would do all of that."

They stared at each other for along moment until Ochako seemed to remember that she was gripping his hands so tightly, it was as if to keep herself tethered to the floor. Quickly, she returned to her seat with a blush on her face and picked at her nail polish.

"Well, regardless. No matter what you think, I do appreciate your apology." She stated in a much calmer voice than before. "I know it must have taken a lot."

"Heh." Bakugo chuckled, sniffling and sitting up a little straighter in his chair. "Well, don't get used to it. Since I've been suspended, I don't plan on making any more mistakes in the future."

"Right." Ochako nodded with a determined look on her face. "Let's both do our best from now on!"

* * *

Deku heaved a sigh as he listened to his oldest friend's rant on the other end of the line. He'd missed his first call a little while ago because he was somewhere underground, still riding through Tokyo's expansive rail system on his way home. But once he'd resurfaced, he'd gotten the alert and eagerly called him back while he hoofed it the rest of the way back home.

He was so tired – most likely from the effects of last night's accidental sedation – but he wouldn't be able to set foot indoors without consulting with his closest confidant first. Last night didn't even feel real to him anymore, passing by him as frivolously as a dream would. With the laptop and all that evidence finally secured, Melissa assured him that she would finally be able to start taking back her company, bit by bit. But Deku knew deep-down that things were far from over. Unfortunately, the situation was not as simple as Melissa had originally led him to believe, made even more complicated with the addition of that infamous video circulating online.

It had only been a few hours since his plane landed, but he could still feel I-Island bearing down on him as if he'd never even left. The only thing he could think to do to relieve this extra weight on his shoulders was tell someone. But the only person he could trust to not overreact or lecture him was Kacchan. So, when his oldest friend finally answered the phone, Deku had gone off the rails in a tangent explaining everything that had happened over the past two weeks. And Bakugo had kept up as best as he could, interrupting to angrily demand that he explain something over again as needed.

"_So, what the hell more do you think you can do for her from way over here?_" Bakugo snapped when Deku was finally done yapping his ear off. "_You got her laptop back, plus you snatched up whatever drug they were experimenting with. That's all she said she needed_."

Deku had stopped to finish his phone call before going inside the apartment, leaning against the wall next to his front door and keeping his voice low to avoid any potential for eavesdropping. Luckily, it was only Aki around to keep him company.

"I just don't have a good feeling about this." He said, crouching down to scratch the cat under his chin. "You've seen how the news is painting the protestors out to be."

"_Yeah, so?_"

"Well, it's not true!"

"_What's not true?_" He snapped. "_Those scientists were trying escape with state secrets or some shit and got caught. Shit happens._"

"But that's just it." Deku insisted, watching Aki slink between his shoes. "The workers there know the consequences for trying to leave, so they don't bother to try anymore. Instead, they just blackmail each other with company secrets until they get what they're after!"

"…_Is that supposed to sound __less__ crazy than what the news is puttin' out?_"

"No, it's not crazy! It's the truth!" He rebuked, knowing fully well how crazy he sounded. "The protestors are rallying over the deaths of those scientists because they _weren't_ trying to leave!"

Bakugo growled from the other end. "_What the fuck are you tryna say, you damn nerd? These guys were killed for the fun of it, then?_"

Deku ran his fingers through his mop of dark hair and bit his lip as Aki stared up at him with his big olive orbs. His brain still felt heavy from his dose of what was essentially a sleep potion, but of this he was certain.

"_Spit it out, Deku!_" Bakugo's impatience was powerful enough to make his stomach drop even though they were separated by the phone.

"I think it's Melissa's company in that video." He felt guilty for finally expressing such suspicions out loud, but for once Bakugo was silent long enough for Deku to explain himself. "The scientists who were killed belonged to Shield Industries – something felt familiar when I was up on the helipad that night, but I couldn't put my finger on it at the time. But then it hit me. There were extra bullet holes, other than the ones being fired at me, and they matched the spots where those scientists were all lined up in the video."

Bakugo released a long sigh and didn't answer for a while, probably ruminating over this new tidbit of information. "_Christ, when you step in it, you __reallllllllly__ fuckin' step in it, huh?_"

Deku couldn't help but chuckle at the dose of dry humor, looking around for Aki who must have grown bored from inattention and disappeared. "You're tellin' me…"

"_Now lemme ask…_" He said. "_Does she know?_"

He held his breath, unsure how to answer him. "I haven't said anything yet."

"_Why the hell not?_"

"Because I'm still not 100% certain, and I didn't want to give her yet another thing to worry about!"

"_So, what then?_" He spat. "_You two move on from here like everything is back to normal? Fat fuckin' chance._"

Deku released a strained snarl of frustration, wondering how on earth he was feeling worse now when this conversation was supposed to alleviate his concerns.

"That's why I don't think this is over."

"_Of course, it's not over!_" Bakugo barked. "_It won't be over until those fuckers have that chick's head on a stake!_"

"Is that supposed to make me feel better!?"

"_Since when is it my job to make you feel better, you fuckin' nerd?!_" He shouted back. "_You wanna feel better, go fuck your girlfriend – don't call me expecting me to solve your stupid ass problems for you!_"

"I called you for help!"

"_Then shut the fuck up and let me help!_"

Deku ripped the phone from his ear and threatened to throw it over the balcony in his anger. Only Bakugo could rile him up like this, the arrogant prick.

"_The first thing you gotta do is tell Melissa that you think it's her company in that goddamn video. This way she can try to get ahead of any trouble comin' her way._" Not that he was taking a page directly from Noriko's book of damage control, or anything. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. "_She didn't have anythin' to do with the execution, did she?_"

"No, of course not!"

"_Well either way, she's the first one they're all gonna come after if this shit ever gets out._" He retorted. "_And if none of them are allowed to leave the island, it sounds like she's got nowhere to run if it ever hits the fan._"

"Then I have to go back." Deku declared without a second thought, instantly regretting the words as soon as they'd left his lips. But there was no taking them back now. "Someone has to be there to protect her – if I figured out the location of the video, then it's only a matter of time before someone else does, too."

"_You're so predictable_." Bakugo scoffed. "_How the hell are you gonna explain that to Uraraka after you just got back?_"

Deku blinked in genuine shock, mostly because he was still reeling from his own unintentional admission.

"_I just said to tell Melissa what you told me, so she can solve this shit on her own._" He clarified. "_You did your part already – if she needed your help anymore, she woulda said so._"

"But I have to go. I –"

"_You don't __have__ to do anything, dumbass_." Bakugo spat. "_You __want__ to go back_."

"I…" Deku was at a loss. Despite their differences, at the end of the day he truly took Bakugo's words to heart. He would never admit it out loud, but he was probably the closest thing to a brother he'd ever had, so his insights always carried a lot of weight.

"_For such a giant nerd, you really are the stupidest person I know_." Bakugo continued. "_You can't be in two places at once, unless you managed to pull yet another quirk out of your ass while I wasn't lookin'_." He paused to see if he would answer. "_After all these years, you still can't figure out the difference between what you're actually responsible for and what you just __want__ to_ _do. You keep pretendin' like all these problems are yours to solve – like these catastrophes are just being __forced__ on you or somethin'. It pisses me the hell off._"

"K-Kacchan, I just can't leave her there by herself. They'll come after her! The whole island is about into erupt into civil war!" He bit back against the sting of Bakugo's words. "It's easy to judge what you didn't see for yourself – you just don't get it! I can't sit back and do nothing when I could be helping!"

"_Helping who?_"

"Everyone!"

"_How, exactly?_"

"I-I dunno yet!" He was too pissed off at this point to think of an immediate quick-fix that would shut him up and get him off his back. "It's not a one-step solution, alright?"

Bakugo laughed, a dark chuckle that threatened to send green sparks flying off Deku's body as he stood listening. "_The last time you tried to help her, you wound up fucking up __both__ missions for her. She practically spoon-fed them to you and you still found a way to jeopardize it. If ya ask me, she might actually be better off without you_."

"Hey, screw you!" Deku spat, grasping the railing in front of him hard enough to leave dents in its wrought iron. "Shit went sideways in an instant so that's not fair to pin it on me!"

"_Nothing is fair, idiot._" He growled. "_You're the only one around here still believin' it has to be._"

"Oh, yeah?" Deku had snapped and he was seeing red. "Where the hell were you, then, Mr. Big Shot? You saw everything going on in the news – but the most I ever saw of you was your little publicity stunt with Uraraka! So, don't think you get to lecture me on –"

"_You wanna know where I was?!_" Bakugo boomed, cutting him off like a guillotine. "_Fine! Yeah, I was nowhere near I-Island that night – but you wanna know why? 'Cuz I was too fuckin' busy revivin' your dead girlfriend back to life!_"

The words sucker-punched him harder than Bakugo's actual fists ever could. Instantly, the fire that raged in his gut went out and he was left overlooking the skyline in a stupor.

"She…d-didn't tell me it was you." He stammered.

"_I figured she didn't_." He snapped. "_So, if anyone has any right to lecture you about leaving again it's me – or her, for that matter. You almost fuckin' lost her and I had to step in again to do your job for you_."

"You're wrong."

"_Hah!?_"

"I said you're _wrong_, Kacchan!" Deku stood again. "I figured you of all people realized how strong Uraraka actually is. She would never stop me from doing what's right – even it meant me leaving again."

"_So, you're really gonna fuckin' do this…_" It wasn't a question. "_You moron._"

He ignored the jab now that they were speaking somehwat calmly again. "Uraraka's gonna be mad but she'll understand."

"_If you say so. I already told you it's a bad idea, so I'll gladly take her side in that argument._" Bakugo's shrug was practically visible through his tone of voice. "_All I can say is if you're __really__ sure about this, then rip the band-aid. Don't wait. You're a shitty secret-keeper and you'll only hurt her if you wait 'til the last minute again_."

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence…"

"_What, you think I'm gonna lie to you to spare your stupid feelings? Dream on_."

"Yeah, why would you ever hold back for a friend?" Deku seemed to chuckle.

"_We ain't friends, nerd_."

"Whatever." He huffed.

"_Oi, so we done here or what? I got shit to do too, y'know_."

"Yeah, I guess that's it. Thanks, Kacchan."

"_Later_."

Deku replaced his phone to his pocket and punched in the code to unlock the front door. He deposited his shoes in the _genkan_, slugging his carry-on over his sore shoulders with a relieved sigh that he was finally home. He rested his head against the door to the apartment before finally stepping through the threshold and taking in the wonderful aroma of homemade katsudon. Suddenly, everything felt okay.

No one was around to greet him as he passed by the kitchen to toss his bag into the bedroom and change out of his stale travel clothes, but he almost preferred it that way. After that conversation, especially. Uraraka was nowhere in sight, but he'd find her shortly. Right after his shower. That phone call with Bakugo had gotten more heated than he'd thought it would, and he needed wash off all this negativity before he saw her.

As the hot water ran through his mop of dark hair, he wondered how Uraraka would react to what he needed to tell her. He wondered if all the goodies he'd brought home would soften the blow for him. God, he really was a coward, wasn't he? He just didn't want to hurt her again – she'd been so upset when he first left two weeks ago, after all. So how else could he expect her to feel after learning he was planning to go right back to I-Island again? The worst part was that she would never try to stop him, even if she wanted to. Because just like he would never dream of getting in the way of her goals, she would never want to keep him from his.

Uraraka trusted him just as much as he trusted her, although that didn't mean very much anymore since he'd withheld the true nature of his "adventures" in I-Island from her. And the absence of information was the same thing as a lie in his book, and he had a sinking feeling that Uraraka would feel the same way. But how could he say no to helping Melissa take back her company from the greedy bastards who'd snaked it out from under her? It may not have been the original reason he'd gone, but it was the main goal she was after. And he'd stayed for the whole duration of the I-Expo to make sure she'd be safe during all the turmoil that had evolved with the protests. How could he possibly leave her there all by herself now, like a lamb in a lion's den?

But as his fingers began to prune under the showerhead, he'd been forced to remind himself not to bring up the truth about I-Island until the time was right. Despite what Kacchan had warned him about ripping the band-aid. A lot had happened here at home in his absence, as well, and it wouldn't be right to add onto that with something that could wait until a better moment presented itself. So, I-Island would have to circle the drain like the suds from his body wash for now.

Besides, Melissa had specifically crafted a device for Uraraka to use and, out of all the prototypes he'd demoed, he was eager to see this one in action. It would attach to the outside of her current suit and act like an exoskeleton to help her physically lift heavier objects without having to rely so much on her quirk. This way, she would be able to conserve some of her abilities and spare herself some of the nausea she often experienced after straining herself. And if nothing else, she could always use the exoskeleton to help her pack a more powerful punch when need be.

He wasn't sure how enthusiastically she would react to the gift though, especially considering she was still on the road to a full recovery. And perhaps reminding her of that wasn't the wisest thing he could do. He felt like he was walking on eggshells and they hadn't even seen each other yet. Luckily, there were other treats he could give her if that wound up being the case, though – specifically the dragon fruit, lychee, and mango flavored mochi he'd brought back from the island. At least he knew he'd done well with those, if nothing else.

Deku threw his towel in the hamper and dressed in comfortable clothes, slipping into his favorite green robe before leaving the bedroom. The kitchen was still empty, so he headed into the living room before finally locating the lady of the hour. He smiled at the sight of Uraraka asleep in an upright position on the plush sofa, remote still loosely grasped in her hand at her side. She'd clearly fallen asleep while waiting for him and he tiptoed over to awaken her with a warm kiss on the forehead.

"I'm home."

Her fawn tinted eyes fluttered open and a sleepy smile crept across her face when she settled onto his visage.

"Welcome back." She reached up and tugged him into another warm embrace and he had to catch himself on the back of the couch to keep from tumbling over it. "I missed you." She breathed him in deeply before finally releasing him.

"I missed you too." He smiled, wiping her bottom lip for her with a deep sense of longing.

"Are you hungry?" She shut off the TV and stood from the couch with a stretch to head into the kitchen.

"Famished." He followed her. "I've been smelling dinner ever since I walked in the door."

She pulled their ceramic dinner bowls from the oven, where she'd been keeping them warm since she'd finished cooking, and deposited them on the eat-in counter that lined the border of the kitchen and dining room. Deku excitedly removed the cover of the delft blue _donburi_ bowl, shaking his fingers of the heat that bit back.

"Careful!" Ochako admonished. "It's hot!"

"Can't wait." He grabbed his chopsticks and dove into the dish, slicing through the pork and rice to pluck out the perfect first bite that was equal parts onion and egg, too. He groaned in delight and gave Ochako a look that was near-tears. "So good!"

She smiled and took a bite of her own serving, sharing in his shivers. She'd done a damn good job, though she couldn't exactly take all the credit. She'd wound up calling Deku's mom halfway through trying to figure out which oil to fry the cutlets in, begging the poor woman to coach her through the rest.

The pair ate side-by-side, regaling each other with exciting tales of the past two weeks. Deku teased her that her photo with Bakugo had reached I-Island, and in short order demand for Ground Zero's merchandise at the expo had skyrocketed. Melissa had even bought a keychain of his to plug into her phone, insisting that Ground Zero's attitude encouraged her to be tough, too. Ochako had begrudgingly understood, informing Deku that her social media had received a steady increase in followers ever since the photo went viral. Not to mention, an extremely concerned phone call from her parents.

In turn, he had described a very concise and edited list of the things he'd done on his solo voyage to the island, nerves unconsciously bouncing his leg for him. When he wasn't helping Melissa, he was out and about scouring the expo for rarities to claim, eating overpriced items at themed restaurants, and joining in other various festivities. A few fans had even recognized him in-costume, which had really made his heart soar.

But as he spoke about Melissa's work, he couldn't help but become a bit dismayed. Ulterior motives aside, Melissa just couldn't figure out a way to conjure up anymore of his predecessors' quirks. So, he'd left I-Island with the same quirks he'd had when he first arrived, and Bakugo's joke about it on the phone had stung more than he cared to admit. But on the bright side, his carry-on was full of various gadgets and tools for both hero work and everyday chores.

At that, Ochako had retrieved the strawberry roll cake from the fridge and cut them each a piece. She gave herself an extra dollop of whipped cream because she deserved it and marveled at her craftmanship.

"How are you feeling?" Deku asked, grabbing a stray strawberry that had fallen from his slice and feeding it to her.

Ochako eagerly chomped down on it and happily nodded, licking her lips. "_Much_ better."

He stared at her lips – at the tiny smear of whipped cream she still hadn't noticed. "Good." He brushed his thumb against her mouth to get it for her, licking it off his own finger and eliciting a shiver up her spine with the lusty look in his eye.

###

He pounced, leaping from his chair to cradle her face between his hands and took her lips with his. She tasted just like the sweet cake they'd been eating, and he hungrily pushed her onto the nearby dining room table. They knocked over the wooden fruit bowl and decorative table runner, sending it clattering to the floor. Ochako tangled her fingers into the mess of hair she'd longed to have between her fingertips for fourteen whole days, making sure he knew just how much she'd missed him with each tug.

Deku nuzzled her neck, breathing in her scent like it was his lifeforce and trailed kisses so hot under her ear that she felt like she might melt. He tugged his vintage All-Might T-shirt from the hem of her high-waisted linens in order to remove it entirely. As she unhooked her bra, he reached behind him for the tub of whipped cream and gauged her reaction.

Her cheeks flushed pinker than before and she opened and shut her mouth several times, as though her mind was struggling to keep up with what was going on. Deku plunged a finger into the whipped cream and slowly, delicately traced a heart just below her clavicle. Keeping her rattled gaze, he gently licked the topping off and she sucked in a sharp breath.

He quickly backed off. "Too much?"

"Not at all." She enthusiastically pulled him back into her arms, slipping his robe from his shoulders, and pushing him down into the spot on the table that she had vacated. She placed the tub of whipped cream beside him and pulled down the hem of his lounge pants far enough to get a proper handle on him.

He wasn't ready yet, which was exactly what she'd wanted. She dipped her finger into the topping and painstakingly traced it along his length, relishing in his strained hiss as he leaned back on his elbows. She loved teasing him, and he loved that she loved teasing him. Once she'd decided he was properly covered, she set to cleaning him off again, licking as much as could handle in one gulp before going back for more.

Deku moaned and placed his hand on her head until he could stand it no longer and told her that they needed to switch. As she settled in, he quickly dipped his dinner napkin into what remained of his water in order to properly clean off the rest of the whipped cream. Ochako untied her linens and kicked them onto the floor, underwear following a second later and warily eyed the table before getting back on.

"Do…do you think it'll hold us?"

"It can support up to 310lbs."

Of course he would know something like that off-hand.

"Now, where were we?" He smiled, pinning her onto the table with kisses before helping her sit up again. Hands on her thighs to separate them, he squeezed in-between and gingerly pushed himself inside.

"A-ah!" Ochako wrapped a desperate hand behind his neck to steel herself as she suddenly came.

"Did you just…?"

She was panting, both from surprise and embarrassment. "It's…been a while."

Deku couldn't help his smirk. He retrieved her hand from the back of his neck and gently kissed her palm, before throwing it over his shoulder again to bring her face to his.

"I'm gonna move now, alright?" Their foreheads were touching, reducing him to an intimate whisper.

She nodded, closing her eyes and losing herself in their rhythm. With each thrust, he drove himself deeper still, and the angle from sitting upright was hitting Ochako in all the right spots. She felt her body bubbling up to a boil again and willed herself to hang on just a little longer. Deku didn't seem anywhere close to being done, but she didn't quite mind the idea of him outlasting her.

"It's too…" She breathed.

Egged on by her moaning, he grasped the small of her back and dragged her to the edge of the table and even tighter against him. The new proximity left both of them gasping, and the sound of her whines as her muscles spasmed around him threatened to send him over the edge, too.

"Go on." He goaded, strong hands holding her fast.

Ochako clutched his shoulders as he moved relentlessly both against and inside of her. Two weeks away had not made him a merciful man, and it was clear she would, quite literally, not be getting off easy tonight.

"I can't." She cried into his ear.

He paused only for a moment to readjust himself and capture her lips with his.

"What do you need?" He tenderly breathed against her ear.

"Touch me." She demanded, equal parts turned on and mortified by her own words.

"Here?" He teased, grazing a rough thumb across her rosy nipple.

Despite her pleasant shiver, she shook her head negatively, forcing Deku's mouth to curve into a devilish smile.

"_Here?_" He rested his hand against her bellybutton and slid between their bodies to caress her most sweetest of spots.

"Mmh!" She bit down on her lip as Deku continued to tease her. "Faster!"

He started moving again, unrelenting in his ministrations until he could feel her reach her limit again.

"D-Deku!" She writhed against him, voice frantic as her body twitched from his movements. Watching her face for those honest reactions was proving to be too much for him as well, and he quickly grabbed her face to kiss her again.

"I'm gonna…" He moaned into her mouth. "Ah – Uraraka!" He rode out his climax as long as he could before finally collapsing backwards into the chair.

###

* * *

**A/N:** How was THAT for a reunion? ^^; Soz, no time for after-nookie snuggles! I had to end it there – this one was already 11 pages long! But I did promise you a whopper of an update after all! Hopefully this one makes up for May and June since I'm still working on the next chapter right now. But it should be done in time for a July update. See you then!


	18. Dirty Air

**UPROAR**

**Summary:** Just because you're a Pro doesn't mean you're immune to the shit life throws your way. But that's part of the fun, right? Right…? Ugh, All Might made it all look so easy. Aged-up. Rated T for now. Connected drabble series.

**A/N:** Woo early July update! It hasn't been too long since last time, so let's get right to it! I tried out a new format for the group chat this chapter. I was wondering if it might be easier to read this way rather than having it mixed in with the rest of the chapter where it may have looked a little sloppier (and run the risk of forgetting the underlines again ) Either way, I think it's tidier this way so I'm planning to keep this format from now on. Also, I had way too much fun with their screen names/handles so don't take them too seriously ;) And finally, this chapter's title comes from Two Door Cinema Club. Enjoy!

**PS:** Someone left a review for the last chapter that I must answer here because they left it as a guest! I prefer to DM my replies but that's just for the sake of taking up too much of an A/N bc I know no one likes a long A/N lol. So getting back to business, basically the short answer to your review is: great guess and I like where your head is at! :) A deeper explanation is that I personally haven't decided which ship I like better because I like them both pretty equally, so as of right now (in chapter 19 that I'm writing right now) nothing has changed. Yet ;)

* * *

Chapter 18: Dirty Air

* * *

_A Few Weeks Later_

* * *

_U.A. Group Chat__:_

AlienkweenMina: Is Bakugo-kun okay? I haven't heard from him in a while.

Invisigrl16: I noticed he's been MIA lately, too. Anyone know where he's been lately?

EarphoneJirou: I also saw that all of Ground Zero's official accounts have gone silent lately. Ever since that fire a month or two ago, actually. I hope he's alright.

Invisigrl16: I just read some comments trying to guess where he is. Top guess is Hawaii with a bunch of his fangirls :P

AlienkweenMina: Oh please… He never answers in the chat anyway, and he doesn't post anything that isn't sponsored. Has anyone seen him irl lately?

Chargeboltboy: Who's missing now?

MelloCelloSero: Nobody's MISSING – don't make a mountain out of a molehill guys! He's just laying low rn.

AlienkweenMina: But this is BAKUGO we're talking about…it's not normal for him to be this quiet for so long.

Invisigrl16: Maybe he really is on vacation?

Chargeboltboy: He wouldn't know how to relax if you tranq'd him XD

MelloCelloSero: Guys…his social media statuses say he's just recovering from the fire. He looked injured in that photo with Uraraka-san, after all.

Chargeboltboy: I call BS! The guy STARTS fires, how is he gonna get taken out by one?

Yaomomo800: That reminds me…how is Uraraka-san? I haven't been able to visit her yet since getting back from I-Island! Things have been so busy :(

FroppyTM: I met her a few days ago for lunch – she's doing well. Just some smoke inhalation to clear out, but she went back to work a little while ago.

EarphoneJirou: Her social media presence has been increasing recently thanks to how she kept that building from going down. Good for her, she deserves more recognition for what she does.

GrapeJuice: By piggybacking on someone else's fame! XD

AlienkweenMina: Says the guy with NO social media presence to speak of…

Invisigrl16: Tough talk for a guy with no followers.

Yaomomo800: If I recall correctly, YOU are the only expert in PIGGYBACKING here, Mineta-kun!

WatchmanIida3: Alright, everyone. Let's keep it civil. Midoriya-kun has informed me that Uraraka-san is perfectly fine and that Bakugo-kun is taking time off to pursue a new venture.

Invisigrl16: NEW VENTURE?!

AlienkweenMina: What does THAT mean?!

Shouto: His modeling career perhaps?

WatchmanIida3: Apparently it's still early, so I'm afraid I can't say for sure. Not that I was given very much information to begin with, anyway…

RedRiotOfficial: Guys, relax! It's not that big a deal. Sorry for my late response, but I'm just grabbing dinner now. If you want to know what he's been up to so badly, just ask him yourself!

AlienkweenMina: Kirishima-kuuuuuuuunnnnn! I know you know everything!

RedRiotOfficial: Why thank you, Mina-chan ;)

AlienqweenMina: I meant about Bakugo-kun, dummy. Don't flatter yourself.

UraviTeachild: Thank you for the concern everyone! I'm sorry for not posting more frequently, but I've been taking it easy recently. Doctor's orders! Tsu-chan and Iida-kun already mentioned it, but I've fully recovered from the smoke inhalation and I have been given the O.K. to go back to work!

EarphoneJirou: Congratulations, Uraraka-san! I'm glad you're doing well!

Chargeboltboy: Yeah, we're all glad you're okay!

AlienkweenMina: You had me so worried!

MelloCelloSero: We all were!

Yaomomo800: The important thing is that you're back to full health and back to work ^^

Invisigrl16: Welcome back, Uravity!

UraviTeachild: Thank you all for the well wishes!

* * *

"Stupid Icy-Hot…" Bakugo skimmed his messages, crimson gaze racing a mile a minute to keep up with his classmates' near-constant barrage. Though he checked them regularly enough, it was mostly just to get rid of the notification bubble that glared at him every time he unlocked his phone, rather than to actually respond to them. There had to be something urgent and dire going on for him to actually answer. And since the chat was usually full of gossip or quick updates to keep each other in the loop, a response from Bakugo had become increasingly few and far between.

"Oi, you readin' this crap?" He plucked his sweating beer from the plain coaster on the table and downed a hearty swig.

Deku chuckled from his spot on the couch, thoroughly enjoying Todoroki's precision wit. His phone dimmed from inactivity when he placed it on the couch and his beer sat open but undrunk beside him. "Well, can you really blame them? It's been over a month now since you last said anything."

Bakugo was on the plush carpet of Deku's living room and he fell backwards from his seated position in order to stretch out. The pair had been brainstorming all evening and it was starting to get dark now. They'd sent Kirishima and Uraraka for dinner well over twenty minutes ago, and by now it seemed like they were more preoccupied with the group chat than retrieving the takeout.

"What the hell's takin' them so long?" He snapped. "I could have made dinner myself by now."

He shrugged. "You're the one that wanted spicy chicken when there's a perfectly good curry-rice place nearby."

"You sayin' it's my fault now?"

Deku met his crimson gaze and deliberated if his cranky mood was from hunger or frustration. Probably both, but either way he wasn't in the mood to argue with him. No matter how much he was baiting him. They'd been here for hours now, pretty much since Deku had first set foot back home after work today. It had become such a regular occurrence these past few weeks to see Bakugo impatiently waiting outside his apartment nowadays, that Ochako actually remembered to lock the door sometimes lest he burst in during a bad time.

"What?" Bakugo demanded at Deku's prolonged staring, seemingly looking for any excuse to take his irritation out on his favorite punching bag.

"How's your list coming?" Deku asked instead, rubbing the bridge of his nose and placing his own list down on the coffee table. He finally took a sip of his awaiting beer. "My eyes are getting tired."

"Heh." Bakugo sat up again. "I thought you were supposed to be good at studying. Age finally catchin' up to you?"

Deku didn't feel the need to remind him that he was actually three months younger than him, and reached for the remote instead.

"Oi!" Bakugo barked, glaring at the TV and then back at him. "We've got work to do!"

"C'mon, Kacchan…" Deku grumbled. "We're gonna have to break soon for dinner, anyway."

"Not with the way Pink Cheeks and Shitty Hair are takin' their sweet ass time." He snapped, though he thankfully said nothing more about the lists.

In fact, he got up off the floor and joined Deku on the couch, plopping down on the far-end with a flourish like he'd been on his feet all day. He hadn't been back to work since his suspension, so he'd had nothing but time with which to sit in his apartment and stew on it. And ever since he'd met with Uraraka the afternoon Deku came home from I-Island, he'd been obsessing over this idea in his head. He'd credited (and blamed) the girl for getting it into his head in the first place, and Deku defended her by stating she was simply trying to cheer him up. It was Bakugo himself who'd taken her words and twisted them around in order to formulate this half-cocked idea and run with it.

* * *

_A Few Weeks Ago_

_ Their food had come and went, eaten in a mostly comfortable silence now that what had needed to be said, had been properly said. The bakery had been slow enough in the middle of the day that they could sit and linger, rather than endure the usual Tokyo rush to feed as many customers as possible. Uraraka had ordered a second milk tea when the server had cleared their trays, so Bakugo took it as a hint that she wasn't in any hurry to leave just yet and ordered a water with as much ice as they could shove in the glass. _

_ "Y'know, Bakugo-kun…" She began, gnawing on her straw absent-mindedly. Or maybe she was nervous. "I heard you're still suspended…and I just want you to know that if there's anything I can do to help, I'll do it." _

_ He cocked a blond brow at her, not even needing three guesses to know who'd spilled the beans. _

_ "I mean, I can go to your agency and explain that you were just –"_

_ "It won't make a difference." He interrupted her before the notion could even sprout roots. "They've made up their mind." His sigh shifted his tight shoulders. "If I so much as look at a villain now, I'll be labeled a Vigilante."_

_ The word gave Uraraka pause, biting down on her straw to frown her eyebrows in suspicion._

_ "Why?" _

_ He shrugged. "Mirko was given the order to suspend me for my actions. It came straight from the top apparently."_

_ "But that doesn't make you a Vigilante." Came her quick response. _

_ "Either way, who would take a hero suspended from the #5's agency?" _

_ Uraraka shook her head slowly and placed her cup onto the table, auburn orbs probing deeply into his to make sure he was paying proper attention to her words. _

_ "Did they suspend your hero license?" She questioned. "Or did they just suspend you from the agency?"_

_ He paused, rusty gears in his head suddenly roaring back to life with a knowing smirk. They both knew the answer to her question without him needing to confirm it. Sure, he'd screwed up. But not bad enough to warrant the trouble of actually scrubbing his hero license from the national register. That being said…_

_ "You're still legally a Pro Hero, free to wander the streets of Tokyo in search of villains." She waved her hands in the air like a dramatic actor reciting Shakespeare._

_ He couldn't help but chuckle at her theatrics. She was just goofy enough for him to somehow find charming. "But that still doesn't help me in finding a new agency. I've basically been blacklisted." _

_ She took up her gnarled straw again, pursing her lips around it in thought. He watched her take a big gulp as she ruminated, taking a sip of his own water to fill the silence between them. _

_ "Well, I never thought you'd give up so easily…" She mumbled, straw teasing the corner of her mouth._

_ "Who's giving up?!" He demanded, nearly choking on an ice cube at her blunt statement. _

_ "__You__ sound like you are!" She snapped back. "The Bakugo-kun I went to school with would stubbornly turn his back on all these judgmental agencies and forge his own path." She continued, oblivious to the puffing bull seated directly across from her, ready to charge at her next insult. "He'd tell them 'Screw you old geezers – I'll show you a __real__ hero agency!' and then blast through villains on his way to the top of the charts." _

_ She seemed extremely satisfied in her mocking portrayal of the angry teenaged-Bakugo and stared at him with those big eyes of hers as though awaiting his official approval. But Bakugo couldn't be bothered with taking offense at the way she'd imitated his petulant jaw or curled her fingers sadistically in his trademark scare-tactic. He was too busy humoring that tiny nagging thought she'd unintentionally planted in the back of his mind. It was beginning to take hold and sap brainpower like a pesky weed stealing nutrients from the rest of the garden, until the bud finally bloomed and revealed itself a veritable flower. _

_ "Bakugo-kun?" Uraraka waved her hand in front of his face. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you! I didn't think you'd take my teasing so seriously!" _

_ He snatched her hand with the speed of a viper, startling her with the maniacal grin he wore. _

_ "Thank you, Uraraka."_

_ Her frantic gaze darted between his and the hand he'd ensnared. "For what?" _

_ "You're right." He let her go. "If nobody wants to hire me, I'll just become my own boss."_

* * *

And since that day, Deku had returned home to a new face waiting for him outside his door. Every day, Bakugo had printed out new listings from various real estate agencies and enlisted (ahem, _coerced_) help from his closest friends to seek out the perfect space. And after so many weeks of skimming various advertisements, flyers, and printouts, Deku felt like he was going to go cross-eyed. He'd never needed glasses before, but he figured his luck would have run out sooner or later, and thanks to Bakugo it seemed like it would be sooner.

The two flipped through TV channels in silence, desperately wishing something decent would appear onscreen and give them an excuse to start talking again. Though their relationship had grown into something they each would call a genuine friendship, they knew their rivalry would never truly die. And it tended to rear its head time and again, like an engine letting out steam. As much as they now supported each other whenever the opportunity arose, there would always be that tiny part of them, deep down in the darkest corner of their subconscious that still longed for superiority. Whether it stemmed from their rocky childhood together, the envy shared throughout their days at U.A., or just from a general desire for dominance, each had their own reason for the competition.

"So." Bakugo suddenly spoke, though his eyes remained on the baseball game in front of him. Behind the dancing rainbow mascot, the team's seagull logo made him think of the beach, and the beach reminded him of a certain artificial island in the Pacific that they just couldn't escape. "Bought your ticket yet?"

"F-for what?" Deku's fingers began to play with the buttons on the remote and he nearly drained his whole beer in a last-ditch effort to avoid this particular topic.

But the blond just gave him a sidelong glare, seeing through his feigned obfuscation and silently warning him to cut the crap.

In truth, Deku still had yet to tell Ochako about his affairs on I-Island, or of his intention to go back. He promised himself he'd find the right time to tell her about going back to help Melissa, but it had been over a month and a half since the Expo ended, and his search had quickly turned into more of a waiting game.

"Oh…that. Right." He chuckled nervously. "No, I haven't bought it yet."

"Heh." Bakugo nipped the final ounces of his beer and smirked as a player crept off first base to steal second. "Finally changed your mind?"

"No." Deku replied simply.

"Then what the hell are you waiting for?"

He shrugged, watching the poor player dive for second base only to be tagged out. "The right time, I guess."

"And when's that gonna be?" Bakugo bit. "When the protestors figure out whose company logo is scrubbed out in that video?"

"Knock it off, Kacchan." Deku shot him a peeved look that advised him to tread lightly now. "It's not that simple, and you know it."

Bakugo scoffed. "There's nothin' simpler about it. You buy the ticket and board the plane."

For someone who was adamant about what a bad idea returning to I-Island would be, Bakugo sure was eager for him to leave already. But he knew his former bully was more than well-versed in the art of reverse-psychology and Deku damned him for still being such a master manipulator. The more Bakugo pressed him, the more he dug his heels in about it.

He rolled his dark green eyes as response and returned his attention to the TV, flipping from the game to search through the guide for a movie to watch instead.

"Tch. Bet you didn't even tell Ochako yet."

He wasn't sure what it was about that particular remark that had sent him over the edge. Maybe it was that pesky male pride that took offense at how easily his girlfriend's name came rolling off another guy's tongue. Or perhaps his outrage stemmed from that cocky tone of voice he used while not even bothering to look him in the eye. Or hell, maybe it was just because he was sick and tired of Bakugo being right all the damn time.

Whatever the reason, Deku's animal instincts got the better of him and sent him careening onto the other side of the couch in a flash of bright green lightning. He'd snatched the collar of his shirt and managed to land a decent punch square in his jaw before the blond's reflexes kicked in and blasted him straight into the sliding glass door behind him. The glass cracked from the force but was too thick to break from such a low-intensity detonation. Or his "indoor" blasts, as he once to referred to them.

Bakugo stood, one fist smoking while the other hand massaged his sore chin. He glared at Deku on the floor in front of the balcony but was only able to take one step forward before the _genkan_ door suddenly swung open and unleashed the frantic entrance of their long-awaited dinner.

"See, I told you!" Ochako exclaimed as she shoved her bags onto the dining room table. "You owe me 500 yen, Kirishima-kun!"

"Aw, dammit!" He cried, depositing the bags of fried chicken next to the drinks. "I really thought they'd be able to make it this time."

The opponents peered back at the pair from the living room with matching stares of cluelessness.

"You two are hopeless." Ochako rolled her eyes and folded her arms at the combatants. "I knew this was gonna happen again. I swear, you two will never change." She glared expectantly. "Well, are you done yet or should Kirishima-kun and I start eating without you?"

Bakugo opened his mouth to shout something at her, but Deku stood from where he was crumpled on the floor and interrupted him by heading to the table without another word. Grudgingly, he followed and took a seat next to Kirishima while Ochako shuffled around the kitchen to gather plates and cups for their guests. Though by this point, they had become something more than guests with their consecutive dinners here.

"And I mean it, you know." Uraraka had warned, staring at Kirishima after they had all settled in for their meal. "I want a shiny 500-yen coin in my hand before you leave – none of this buying me a drink at the vending machine again."

"That was one time!" The redhead earnestly defended himself against her heckling. "I only had ￥10,000 notes on me!"

"What a hotshot!" She teased, specifically ignoring the elephant in the room lest it reopen whatever old wounds had started the fight between Deku and Bakugo in the first place. But just because she didn't acknowledge that crack in the sliding glass door, didn't mean she wouldn't see to it that one of them fixed it later.

"You carry around big bills like that?" Deku questioned, sheepishly accepting the plate of food that Ochako had offered him, knowing fully well that he would be getting an earful later.

"I'd just got paid!" Kirishima grumbled. "And what difference does it make if it's in big bills or not?"

Bakugo rolled his eyes. "The point is you're askin' for trouble walkin' around with that kinda cash on you, dumbass."

"Who the hell would try to rob _me?_"

"That _is_ a fair point." Ochako agreed, feeling better now that her plan was working. Or at least, now that the boys were wise enough to just play along even if they saw through her efforts. She'd been forced to play mediator a lot recently and she didn't like how easily it was coming to her as of late.

"I had a date that night, okay?" Kirishima finally admitted. "Happy now?"

Bakugo gave him a look. "Not that knuckle-girl again."

"Knuckle-girl?" Ochako whispered to Deku, for clarification. But he shrugged in response, just as baffled.

"No, not her." He answered, eyeing Uraraka self-consciously. "A different girl. …Yuri-chan won't call me back."

At that, the dining room table dissolved into laughter at his expense that even Kirishima himself couldn't help but join as well.

"I have to know why you call her knuckle-girl!" Ochako announced.

Bakugo shrugged. "Because she has to crack her knuckles to use her quirk."

"Snap-Back?!" Deku exclaimed with excitement, catching Bakugo's scowl and instantly deflating again. "I mean…you got rejected by Snap-Back?"

"She didn't _reject_ me!" Kirishima argued. "She just…won't answer any of my calls or messages!"

"You must have done something _bad_." Ochako declared, mischief in her eye. Under the table, she reached for Deku's hand and gave it a hearty squeeze, relieved when he gave her a reassuring smile in return. She didn't care why the fight happened, or that their balcony door was now cracked. She only cared that it was over and done with and that they could all move on now.

"I guess I'll never know…" Kirishima lamented. "She was definitely something, though." He wore a wry smile that neither Ochako nor Deku wanted to pry any further into.

Bakugo seemed to harrumph in ironic agreement but said nothing more on the matter, so the four finished their meal in a comfortable silence.

* * *

**A/N:** Le sigh. I'm a sucker for a grumpy Deku because it's such a refreshing change from his usual chipper self! I figured things would stay tense between him and Bakugo since their big argument last chapter, considering nothing actually ended up getting resolved. So instead of another intense bout of bickering, I left it with a pleasant dinner amongst friends. Because who can stay angry with eternal ray of sunshine Kirishima-kun around? Complications will ensue soon, though…just you wait! And in the meantime, please do yourself a favor and look up the mascot for the Chiba Lotte Marines baseball team. You won't be disappointed ;)


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